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THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 
SERIES 

1.  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS  IN  THE  WOODS 

2.  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS  ON  THE  FARM 
3o  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS  AT  LONG  LAKE 

4.  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 

5.  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS  ON  THE  MARCH 

vfi.  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS  AT  THE  SEASHORE 


Camp  Fire  Girls  Series,  Volume  II 

The  Camp  Fire  Girls 
on  the  Farm 

or 

Bessie  King’s  New  Chum 

by 

JANE  L.  STEWART 

□ 

The  Saalfield  Publishing  Company 
Chicago  Akron,  Ohio  New  York 


Copyright,  1914 
By 

The  Saalfield  Publishing  Company 


The  Camp  Fire  Girls 


On 


arm 


CHAPTER  1 


IK  THE  CITY 


“I  never  dreamed  of  suck  a lovely  room,  Zara, 
did  you?” 

Bessie  King,  her  eyes  open  with  admiration  and 
wonder,  asked  her  chum  the  question  in  a room  in 
the  home  of  Eleanor  Mercer,  Guardian  of  the 

IManasquan  Camp  Fire,  oi;  the  Camp  Fire  Girls. 

Both  the  girls  were  new  members  of  .the  organiza- 
. tion,  and  Bessie,  who  had  lived  all  her  life  in  the 
I ■ country,  and  had  known  nothing  of  the  luxuries 
1 and  comforts  that  girls  in  the  city,  or  the  luckier 
ones  of  them,  at  least,  take  almost  as  a matter 
if*,  of  course,  had  found  something  new  to  astonish 
i her  in  almost  every  hour  since  they  had  come  to 
j the  city. 

fee.  “I’ve  dreamed  of  it— yes,”  said  Zara.  “You 
: see  I’ve  been  in  the  city  before,  Bessie;  and  I’ve 
! seen  houses  like  this,  and  I’ve  guessed  that  the 
rooms  inside  must  be  something  like  this,  though 
j I never  lived  in  one.  It’s  beautiful.” 


4 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“I  almost  wish  we  were  going  to  stay  here,, 
Zara.  But  I suppose  it  will  be  nice  when  we  go 
to  the  farm.” 

Eleanor  Mercer,  who  had  been  standing  for  a 
moment  in  the  doorway,  came  in  then,  laughing 
merrily.  She  had  overheard  the  remark,  and 
Bessie  was  greatly  distressed  when  she  discovered 
it. 

“Oh,  Miss  Eleanor!”  she  exclaimed.  “Please, 
please  don’t  think  I’m  ungrateful.  I want  to  do 
whatever  you  think  is  right—” 

“I  know  that,  Bessie,  and  I know  just  what  you 
were  thinking,  too.  Well,  you’re  going  to  have  a 
surprise— I can  promise  you  that.  This  farm 
isn’t  a bit  like  the  farm  you  know  about.  I guess 
you  know  too  much  about  one  sort  of  farm  to 
want  ever  to  see  another,  don’t  you?” 

“Maybe  there  are  different  sorts  of  farms,” 
admitted  Bessie.  “I  don’t  like  Paw  Hoover’s 
kind.  ’ ’ 

Eleanor  laughed  again.  She  was  a fresh, 
■bright-cheeked  girl,  not  so  many  years  older  than 
Bessie  herself.  One  might  guess,  indeed,  that 
she,  as  Guardian  of  her  Camp  Fire,  didn’t  much 
more  than  manage  to  fulfill  the  requirement  that 
Guardians,  like  Scoutmasters  among  the  Boy 
Scouts,  must  be  over  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

“Indeed  there  are  different  sorts  of  farms 
from  that  one,  Bessie,”  she  said.  “You’ll  see  a 
farm  where  everything  is  done  the  way  it  should 


ON  THE  FARM 


5- 


be,  and,  while  I think  Paw  Hoover's  a mighty 
nice  man,  I’ve  got  an  idea  that  on  his  farm  every- 
thing is  done  just  about  opposite  to  the  proper 
fashion.” 

“When  are  we  going,  Miss  Eleanor?” 

Zara  asked  that  question.  In  the  last  few  days 
a hunted  look  had  left  Zara’s  eyes  for  with  relief 
from  certain  worries  she  had  begun  to  be  happier,, 
and  she  was  always  asking  questions  now. 

“I  don’t  know  exactly,  Zara,  but  not  right 
away.  We  want  all  the  girls  to  go  out  together. 
We’re  going  to  have  our  next  Council  Fire  at 
the  farm.  And  some  of  them  can’t  get  away  just 
now.  But  it  will  be  fairly  soon,  I can  promise 
you  that.  You  like  the  country,  don’t  you,  Zara?” 

“Indeed  I do,  Miss  Eleanor!  Until  they  took 
my  father  away  I was  ever  so  happy  there.” 

“And  just  think,  you’re  going  to  see  him  to- 
morrow, Zara!  He’s  well,  and  as  soon  as  he 
heard  that  you  were  here  and  safe,  he  stopped 
worrying.  That  was  his  chief  trouble— he  seemed 
to  think  more  about  what  would  happen  to  you 
than  that  he  was  in  trouble  himself.  ’ ’ 

“I  knew  he’d  be  thinking  about  me,”  said  Zara. 

‘ ‘ He  always  did,  even  when  he  had  most  to  bother 
him.  ’ ’ 

“I  was  sure  he  was  a good  father,  Zara,  when 
I heard  you  talk  about  him— and  I’ve  been  surer 
of  it  than  ever  since  I’ve  had  a chance  to  find 
out  about  him.  My  cousin,  who’s  a lawyer,  you. 


6 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


know,  is  going  to  see  that  he  is  properly  treated, 
and  he  says  that  Mr.  Weeks,  who  tried  so  hard 
to  make  you  stay  behind  and  work  for  him,  is  at 
the  bottom  of  all  the  trouble.” 

Zara  shuddered  at  the  name. 

“How  I hate  that  Parmer  Weeks!”  she  ex- 
claimed. 

Eleanor  Mercer  sighed  and  shook  her  head. 
She  couldn’t  blame  Zara  for  hating  the  man,  and 
yet,  as  she  well  knew,  the  spirit  in  the  little  for- 
eign girl  that  cherished  hatred  and  ideas  of  re-, 
wenge  was  bad— bad  for  her.  But  how  to  eradi- 
cate it,  and  to  make  Zara  feel  more  charitable, 
was  something  that  puzzled  the  Guardian  mightily, 
and  was,  as  she  foresaw,  likely  to  puzzle  her  still 
more.  She  left  the  two  girls  together,  then,  to 
answer  a call  from  outside  the  room. 

“I  don’t  exactly  like  Parmer  Weeks  myself,” 
said  Bessie,  thoughtfully,  when  they  were  alone. 
“But  what’s  the  use  of  hating  him,  Zara?” 

“Why,  Bessie!  He  made  us  run  away  from 
Hedgeville— he  made  me,  anyhow.  And  if  he’d 
had  his  way,  he’d  have  taken  me  back,  and  had 
me  bound  over  to  work  for  him  just  for  board 
until  I was  twenty-one,  if  I hadn’t  starved  to 
death,  first.  You  know  what  a miser  he  is.” 

“Yes,  that’s  true  enough,  Zara.  But,  after  ail. 
if  it  hadn’t  happened  that,  way,  we’d  never  have 
met  Miss  Eleanor  and  the  Camp  Fire  Girls,  would 
we?  And  you’re  not  sorry  for  that,  are  you?” 


ON  THE  FARM 


7 


Zara’s  face,  which,  had  grown  hard,  softened. 
“No,  indeed,  Bessie!  They’re  the  nicest  people 
I ever  did  know,  except  you.  But,  even  after  we 
were  with  them,  and  had  started  to  come  to  the  city 
with  them,  he  caught  me,  and  if  it  hadn’t  been 
for  you  following  us  and  guessing  where  he’d 
put  me,  I’d  he  with  him  now.” 

“Well,  you’re  not,  Zara.  And  you  want  to  try 
to  think  of  the  good  things  that  happen.  Then 
you  won’t  have  time  to  remember  all  the  bad 
things,  and  they  won’t  bother  you  any  more  than 
if  they ’d  never  happened  at  all.  Don ’t  you  see  ? ’ ’ 
“Well,  I’ll  try,  Bessie.  I guess  they  can’t  hurt 
us  here,  anyhow,  or  on  the  farm.  I think  we’re 
going  to  have  lots  of  fun  on  the  farm.  ’ ’ 

“I  hope  so,  Zara.  But  I’ve  often  read  about 
how  jolly  farms  are— in  books.  In  the  books,  you 
don’t  have  to  get  up  at  four  o’clock  on  the  cold 
winter  mornings  to  do  chores,  and  you  don’t  have 
to  work  all  the  time,  the  way  I had  to  do  for  Maw 
Hoover.” 

“I  guess  that  wras  just  because  it  was  Maw 
Hoover,  Bessie,  and  not  because  it  was  on  a farm. 
She’d  have  been  mean  to  you,  and  made  you 
work  all  the  time,  just  the  same,  if  it  had  been  a 
farm  or  wherever  it  was.  I think  it’s  people  that 
make  you  happy  or  unhappy,  not  other  things.” 

“I  guess  that’s  about  right,  Zara.  I’m  awfully 
glad  you’re  going  to  see  your  father  in  the  morn- 
ing. I bet  he’ll  be  glad  to  see  vou.” 


8 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“Bessie!  Zara!”  Miss  Eleanor  was  calling 
from  downstairs,  and  they  ran  to  answer  the  call. 

“Come  into  the  parlor,”  she  said,  as  she  heard 
them  approaching. 

They  obeyed,  and  found  her  talking  to  a tall, 
good  looking  young  man,  who  smiled  cheerfully 
at  them. 

“This  is  my  cousin,  Charlie  Jamieson,  the  law- 
yer, girls,”  said  Miss'  Eleanor.  “I’ve  told  him  all 
about  you,  of  course,  and  now  he  wants  to  talk 
to  you.” 

“I’m  going  to  be  your  lawyer,  you  know,” 
Charlie  Jamieson  explained.  “Girls  like  you 
don’t  have  mueh  use  for  a lawyer,  as  a rule,  but 
I guess  you  need  one  about  as  badly  as  anyone 
I can  think  of.  So  I’m  going  to  take  the  job, 
unless  you  know  someone  better.” 

“No,  indeed,”  they  chorused  in  answer,  and 
both  laughed  when  they  saw  that  he  was  joking. 

“I  wish  about  a thousand  other  people  were 
as  anxious  as  that  to  be  my  clients.  Then  maybe 
I’d  make  enough  money  to  pay  my  office  rent.” 

“Don’t  you  believe  him,  girls,”  said  Eleanor, 
laughing,  too.  “He’s  one  of  the  smartest  young 
lawyers  in  this  town,  and  he’s  busy  most  of  the 
time,  too.  He  always  is,  lately,  when  I want  him 
to  come  to  one  of  my  parties  or  anything  like 
that.” 

“Well,  let’s  be  serious  for  a while,”  said 
Jamieson.  “I’m  going  to  try  to  help  your  father 


ON  THE  FAEM 


9 


out  of  his  trouble,  Zara,  and  I’m  finding  it  pretty 
hard,  because  he  doesn’t  want  to  trust  me,  or  tell 
me  much  of  anything.  Perhaps  you’ll  be  able  to 
do  better.” 

Zara  looked  grave. 

“I  don’t  know  much,”  she  said.  “But  I do 
know  this.  My  father  used  to  trust  people,  but 
they’ve  treated  him  so  badly  that  he’s  afraid  to 
do  it  any  more.  Like  Farmer  Weeks— I think  he 
trusted  him.” 

“That’s  more  than  I’d  do,”  said  the  lawyer, 
with  a grin.  “From  all  I’ve  heard  of  him  I 
wouldn’t  trust  him  around  the  corner  with  a 
counterfeit  nickel— if  I wanted  it  back.  And — 
well,  that  sort  of  helps  to  get  us  started,  doesn’t 
it?  You  know  why  your  father’s  in  trouble?  It’s 
because  they  say  he’s  been  making  bad  money  at 
that  little  house  where  you  lived  in  Hedgeville.  ’ ’ 

“He  didn’t!”  said  Zara.  “I  know  he  didn’t!”' 

“Well,  the  district  attorney— he’s  the  one  who 
has  to  be  against  your  father,  you  know— says 
that  everyone  in  Hedgeville  seems  to  think  he  did. 
And  he  says  that  where  there’s  so  much  smoko 
there  must  be  some  fire;  that  if  so  many  people 
think  your  father  was  crooked,  they  must  be  right. 

I told  him  that  was  unfair,  but  he  just  laughed 
at  me.” 

“You  may  have  to  be  a witness.  Zara,”  said 
Eleanor. 

“A  witness?”  said  Zara,  puzzled. 


10 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“Yes.  You  may  have  to  go  to  court,  and  tell 
them  what  you  know.  They’ll  ask  you  questions, 
though,  and  you’ll  just  have  to  answer  them,  and 
tell  the  truth  just  as  you  know  it.” 

“Yes,  that’s  why  I’m  here,”  said  Jamieson, 
nodding  his  head.  “You  see,  I may  need  you 
very  badly  and  I want  to  make  sure  that  they 
can’t  take  you  hack  to  Hedgeville.  You  never 
saw  anyone  who  told  you  that  as  long  as  your 
father  couldn’t  look  after  you  any  more,  you 
would  have  to  stay  with  this  Weeks,  did  you?  A 
judge,  I mean?” 

“No.  Rut  when  Parmer  Weeks  caught  me  that 
time,  and  carried  me  away  in  his  buggy,  he  said 
he  was  going  to  take  me  to  Zebulon — that’s  the 
county  seat,  you  know— and  have  everything  fixed 
up.  But  Bessie  got  me  away  from  him  before 
that  could  happen,  so  it  was  all  right.” 

“And  when  he  came  after  you  at  Pine  Bridge 
—after  you’d  crossed  the  line  into  this  state— 
the  policeman  there  wouldn’t  let  him  touch  you, 
would  he?” 

“No.  Farmer  Weeks  showed  him  a paper, 
with  a big  red  seal  on  it,  but  the  policeman  said 
it  was  no  good  in  this  state.” 

“That  sounds  all  right.  I guess  they  can’t 
touch  you.  I had  to  make  sure  of  that,  you  see. 
But,  young  lady,  you  want  to  be  mighty  careful. 
If  they  can  get  you  over  the  state  line  no  matter 


ON  THE  FARM 


11 


how,  they’ve  got  you.  And  I shouldn’t  be  sur- 
prised if  they  tried  just  to  kidnap  you.  ’ ’ 

Eleanor  Mercer  looked  frightened. 

“Do  you  think  there’s  really  any  danger, 
Charlie!”  she  asked. 

“I  certainly  do.  And  it’s  because  I don’t  know 
just  what  it  is  they’re  after.  There’s  something 
funny  here,  something  we  don’t  know  about  at 
all,  yet.  Maybe  her  father  could  tell  us,  but  he 
isn’t  ready  to  do  it.  And  I don’t  blame  him  much. 
I guess,  froin  all  I’ve  heard,  that  he’s  had  about 
as  bad  a time  here  with  spies  and  enemies  as  he 
could  have  had  anywhere  in  Europe.” 

“You  hear  that,  Zara!  You  must  be  very  care- 
ful. Don’t  go  out  alone,  and  if  anyone  tries  to 
speak  to  you,  no  matter  what  they  tell  you,  you 
pay  no  attention  to  them.  If  they  keep  on  bother- 
ing you,  speak  to  a policeman,  if  there’s  one 
around,  and  say  that  you  want  him  to  stop  them 
from  bothering  you.” 

“G-ood  idea,”  said  Charlie  Jamieson.  “And  if 
you  do  have  to  speak  to  a policeman,  you  mention 
my  name.  They  all  know  me,  and  I guess  most 
of  them  like  me  well  enough  to  do  any  little 
favor  for  a friend  of  mine.” 

Then  Jamieson  turned  to  Bessie. 

“We’ve  got  to  think  about  your  case,  too,”  he 
said.  “Miss  Mercer  tells  me  that  you  don’t  know 
what’s  become  of  your  father  and  mother.  Just 
;what  do  you  know  about  them!” 


12 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIRLS 


“Not  very  much,”  said  Bessie,  bravely,  al- 
though the  disappearance  of  her  parents  always, 
weighed  heavily  on  her  mind.  “When  I was  a 
little  bit  of  a girl  they  left  me  with  the  Hoovers, 
at  Hedgeville,  and  I lived  with  them  after  that. 
Maw  Hoover  said  they  promised  to  come  back 
for  me,  and  to  pay  her  board  for  looking  after  me 
until  they  came,  and  that  they  did  pay  the  board 
for  a while.  But  then  they  stopped  writing  alto- 
gether, and  no  one  has  heard  from  them  for 
years.  ’ ’ 

“H’m!  Where  did  the  last  letter  they  wrote 
come  from?” 

“San  Francisco.  I’ve  heard  Maw  Hoover  say 
that,  often.  But  that  was  years  and  years  ago.  ’ ’ 

“Well,  that’s  better  than  nothing,  anyhow. 
You  see,  the  Hoovers  wouldn’t  have  known  how- 
to start  looking  for  them,  even  if  they’d  been 
particularly  anxious  to  do  it.” 

“And  I don’t  believe  they  were,”  said  Eleanor 
Mercer,  indignantly.  “They  treated  her  shame- 
fully, Charlie— made  her  work  like  a hired  girl, 
and  never  paid  her  for  it,  at  all.  Instead,  they 
acted,  or  the  woman  did,  anyhow,  just  as  if  they  . 
were  giving  her  charity  in  letting  her  stay  there. 
Wasn’t  that  an  outrage!” 

“Lots  of  people  act  as  if  they  were  being-  char- 
itable when  they  get  a good  deal  more  than  they 
give,”  said  the  lawyer  dryly. 


ON  THE  FARM 


13 


“Maw  Hoover  was  always  calling  me  lazy,  and 
saying  she’d  send  me  to  the  poor-farm,”  said 
Bessie.  “But  it  was  she  and  Jake  that  made 
things  so  hard.  Paw  Hoover  was  always  good  to 
me,  and  he  helped  me  to  get  away,  too.” 

“That’s  what  I’m  driving  at,”  said  Jamieson, 
“You  had  a right  to  go  whenever  you  liked,  if 
they  hadn’t  adopted  you,  or  anything  like  that. 
Really,  all  you  were  in  their  place  was  a servant 
who  wasn’t  getting  paid.” 

“I  knew  she  had  a right  to  go,”  said  Eleanor. 
“That’s  why  I helped  her,  of  course.” 

“Then  we’re  all  right.  If  she’d  really  run 
away  from  someone  who  had  a right  to  keep  her, 
it  would  be  harder.  I might  be  able  to  prove  that 
they  weren’t  fit  guardians,  but  that’s  always  hard, 
and  it’s  a good  thing  we  don’t  need  to  do  it. 
Hullo,  what’s  the  matter  now!” 

“Look!”  said  Zara,  who  had  risen,  and  was 
looking  keenly  at  a figure  across  the  street.  “See, 
Bessie,  don’t  you  know  who  that  is,  even  in  those 
clothes ! ’ ’ 

Bessie  followed  her  eyes,  and  started  to  her 
feet. 

“It’s  Jake  Hoover!”  she  cried.  “What  can  he 
want  here!” 


CHAPTEB  II 


AN  OLD  ENEMY  TURNS  UP 

Startled  and  frightened  by  Bessie’s  cry,  Eleanor 
jumped  up  and  followed  her  to  the  window. 

“Well,”  said  Eleanor,  “I  never  saw  him  be- 
fore, hut  I can’t  say  I’m  sorry  for  that.  He  looks 
mean  enough  to  do  all  the  things  you’ve  told  us 
about  him,  Bessie.” 

“Who  is  this  Hoover?  One  of  the  people  Bessie 
lived  with  in  Hedgeville?”  asked  Jamieson. 

“Yes,  he’s  the  son  of  the  old  farmer  and  his 
wife.  ’ ’ 

“H’m!”  said  the  lawyer.  “Then  evidently  he 
knows  where  she  has  come.  That  looks  bad.” 

“Yes.  You  see,  he  was  always  his  mother’s 
pet,”  said  Eleanor,  “and  I suppose  he’ll  tell  her 
all  about  the  girls.” 

“Let  him!  I guess  it  can’t  do  any  harm.  I 
don’t  see  how  it  can  now  anyhow,  unless  he’s  in 
with  this  Weeks  or  someone  we  don’t  know  any- 
thing about,  who  has  some  interest  in  this  affair. 
That’s  one  of  the  things  that’s  going  to  give  me 
trouble,  I’m  afraid.” 

“What  do  you  mean,  Charlie?” 


14 


ON  THE  FARM 


15 


“Just  that  there’s  so  much  I don’t  know.  You 
see,  there’s  something  mighty  queer  loose  here. 
I can  see  that.  There’s  a mystery  and  we  haven’t 
the  key.  The  chances  are  that  the  people  we’ve 
got  to  fight  know  everything  there  is  to  be  known, 
while  we  don’t  even  know  who  they  are,  except 
this  Weeks.  And  I’m  not  a hit  sure  about  him.” 

“I  am,  Charlie.  If  you’d  seen  him,  and  heard 
all  about  the  way  he  acted,  you’d  know  he  was 
an  enemy  all  right.” 

“That’s  not  just  what  I mean,  Eleanor.  I’m 
thinking  that  perhaps  lie  isn’t  just  making  this 
fight  on  his  own  account,  that  maybe  he’s  working 
for  someone  else.” 

“I  hadn’t  thought  of  that  at  all—” 

“No  reason  why  you  should!  But  it’s  my  busi- 
ness to  think  of  every  little  thing  that  may  hap- 
pen to  have  an  influence  on  any  case  that  I’m 
mixed  up  in,  yon  see.  And,  as  I understand  it, 
this  Weeks  is  pretty  close— pretty  fond  of  money, 
isn’t  he!” 

“He’s  a regular  old  miser,  that’s  what  he  is!” 
said  Zara,  her  eyes  flashing. 

“There’s  a motive  for  him,  you  see.  Someone 
might  have  a reason  for  wanting  to  keep  Zara 
where  they  could  get  her  easily,  and  if  they  offered 
Weeks  a little  money  to  get  hold  of  her,  I judge 
he’d  do  it  fast  enough.” 

“But  why  shouldn’t  they  try  to  get  hold  of 
her  themselves,  if  that’s  what  they  want?” 


16 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“There  might  be  lots  of  reasons  for  that.  They 
might  want  to  keep  out  of  it,  so  that  no  one  would 
know  they  were  doing  it,  you  see.  That  would 
be  one  reason.  And  then  this  Weeks  is  a bit  of  a 
politician.  He’s  got  a good,  strong  pull  in  that 
county,  I guess.  Lots  of  men  who  have  a little 
money  saved  up  can  get  a pull.  They  lend  money, 
and  then  they  can  make  the  men  to  whom  they 
lend  it  do  about  as  they  like,  by  threatening  to  take 
their  land  away  from  them  if  they  don’t  pay  up 
their  mortgages  as  soon  as  they’re  due.  It’s 
pretty  bad  business,  but  that’s  the  way  things  are. 
I’m  afraid  we’re  going  to  have  a lot  of  trouble, 
and,  until  I know  just  what’s  what,  I’ve  got  to  do  a 
lot  of  my  work  in  the  dark.  But  I’m  going  to  do 
my  best.” 

“I  know  how  Jake  Hoover  found  I was  here, 
I bet,  ’ ’ said  Bessie,  who  had  been  thinking  hard. 

“How,  Bessie!” 

“Well,  you  know  General  Seeley  thought  I’d 
frightened  his  pheasants  and  taken  the  eggs. 
And  then,  later,  I found  Jake  was  the  one.  Gen- 
eral Seeley  didn’t  punish  him,  but  let  him  go 
with  a warning.” 

“He’s  too  soft  hearted,”  commented  Jamieson, 
angrily.  “A  lad  like  that  ought  to  be  sent  to  the 
reformatory— proper  place  for  him!” 

“Well,  anyhow,”  Bessie  resumed,  smiling  at 
the  young  lawyer’s  vehemence,  and  at  the  look  of 
approval  that  Zara  shot  at  him,  since  she  had  felt 


ON  THE  FARM 


17 


just  the  same  way  about  Jake,  “he  was  turned 
away,  and  I guess  he  just  hung  around  to  see 
what  I’d  do,  and  where  I’d  go.  I think  he’d  like 
to  get  even  with  me,  if  he  could.  ’ ’ 

“He’d  better  behave  himself  if  he’s  going  to 
stay  around  here,”  said  Jamieson.  “His  mother 
won’t  be  around  to  make  people  believe  that  he 
hasn’t  done  anything  wrong,  and  he  won’t  find 
everyone  as  lenient  and  forgiving  as  General 
Seeley  when  he’s  caught  in  the  act  of  doing  some- 
thing he  can  be  sent  to  jail  for.  Not  if  I’ve  got 
anything  to  say  about  it,  he  won’t!” 

“I  don’t  believe  he’ll  be  able  to  stay  around 
here  very  long,”  said  Bessie,  pacifically.  “It 
must  cost  him  a lot  of  money  to  stay  here  in  the 
■city,  and  I don’t  know  how  he  can  manage  that. 
Maw  Hoover  always  gave  him  money  whenever 
he  wanted  it,  if  she  had  it,  but  she  never  had 
very  much.  ’ ’ 

“That’s  good,”  said  the  lawyer.  “We’ll  hope 
that  he’ll  be  starved  out  pretty  soon,  and  have  to 
go  home.  But  I guess  we’d  better  not  count  very 
much  on  that.  He  may  find  someone  who ’s  anxious 
enough  to  make  trouble  for  you  two  to  pay  him  to 
stay  here  for  a while.  He’d  be  pretty  useful,  I 
imagine.  ’ ’ 

“I  think  we’re  foolish  to  do  so  much  guessing,” 
said  Eleanor,  suddenly.  “You  can  know  much 
better  what  to  do  when  you’ve  really  found  some- 
thing out,  Charlie.  Now,  listen.  I was  thinking 


18 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


of  letting  these  two  go  to  work  for  a little  while 
before  we  went  to  the  farm,  so  that  they  could 
earn  some  money  for  themselves.” 

“Yes,”  said  Bessie  and  Zara,  in  one  breath, 
eagerly.  “We’re  so  anxious  to  do  that.  We 
mustn’t  keep  on  living  here  and  taking  charity—” 

But  the  lawyer  shook  his  head  vigorously. 

“Not  right  away,”  he  said.  “It’s  just  because 
I’m  doing  so  much  guessing  that  we  mustn’t  take 
any  chances,  Eleanor.  You  want  to  keep  them 
close  to  you  fee  a while.  I spoke  about  that  be- 
fore Bessie  saw  our  young  friend  Hoover,  and  I 
think  so  more  than  ever  now.  Don’t  you  see  that 
they’re  being  spied  on  already?” 

“I  certainly  do,”  said  Eleanor.  “And  I just 
want  to  do  whatever  is  best  for  them.  Bessie, 
you  mustn’t  think  you’re  getting  charity  when 
you  stay  here.  You’re  here  as  my  guests,  and 
we  love  to  have  you— both  of  you.” 

“That’s  right,  Bessie,”  said  Jamieson,  smiling. 
“She  means  that,  or  she  wouldn’t  say  it.  I can 
tell  you  you  were  mighty  lucky  when  you  ran  into 
Eleanor  the  way  you  did.” 

“We  know  that,  Mr.  Jamieson,  we  do,  indeed!” 

“Nonsense!”  said  Eleanor,  flushing,  but  not 
really  displeased  by  the  compliment,  which  was 
evidently  sincere.  “I  believe  anyone  would  have 
done  just  what  I did.” 

“I  wish  I had  your  faith  in  human  nature, 
Eleanor,  but  I haven’t  and  I know  that  mighty 


ON  THE  FARM 


19 


few  people  would  have  been  willing  to  do  it,  even 
if  they’d  been  able.  You’ve  got  to  remember 
that,  too.  Lots  of  people  couldn’t  have  done  what 
you  did.  Well,  I’ve  got  to  be  going.” 

“You’ll  call  for  us  to-morrow,  though,  won’t 
you,  Charlie,  to  take  Zara  to  see  her  father?” 

“Yes,  indeed.  I won’t  fail  you.  He’s  looking, 
forward  to  it,  and  I’ve  got  an  idea,  or  I hope,  at 
least,  that  when  he  finds  I’ve  kept  my  promise  and 
brought  Zara  to  see  him,  he’ll  feel  more  like 
trusting  me.” 

“I’m  sure  he  will  when  I tell  him  how  good 
you’ve  been  to  us,  Mr.  Jamieson,”  said  Zara. 

“Better  not  tell  him  about  my  goodness  until 
I’ve  done  something  beside  talk,  Zara.  But  I’m 
going  to  do  my  best  anyhow,  and  I’m  sure  things 
will  come  out  right  in  the  end.  Just  keep  smiling, 
be  cheerful,  and  don’t  worry  any  more  than  you 
can  help.” 

From  the  porch  they  watched  him  walk  off  down 
the  street.  He  carried  himself  like  the  athlete  he 
was,  and  his  broad  shoulders  and  fine,  free  stride 
were  those  of  a man  who  inspires  confidence  and 
trust,  even  in  those  who  only  see  his  back. 

“Look!”  said  Zara,  suddenly.  “Why  is  Jake 
Hoover  going  down  that  way?  And  isn’t  he  act- 
ing queerly?” 

“Why,  I believe  he’s  following  Mr.  Jamieson!”' 
said  Bessie.  “See,  he  keeps  getting  behind  trees 
and  things,  and  he’s  staying  on  the  other  side  of 


20 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


the  street.  Whenever  Mr.  Jamieson  turns,  Jake 
hides  himself.” 

Eleanor  frowned  thoughtfully. 

“I  think  you’re  right,  Bessie,”  she  said.  “And 
I know  what  I’m  going  to  do.  I’m  going  to  tele- 
phone to  his  office,  and  tell  his  clerk  to  slip  out 
and  meet  him,  so  that  he  can  warn  him.  He 
ought  to  know  about  that.” 

She  went  in  hurriedly  to  use  the  telephone. 

“I’m  going  upstairs  to  get  my  handkerchief,” 
said  Zara.  “My,  isn’t  it  warm?” 

So  Bessie  was  left  alone  on  the  piazza.  She 
was  afraid  of  Jake  Hoover,  afraid  of  the  mischief 
he  might  do,  that  is.  No  longer  was  she  afraid 
of  him  as  she  had  been  in  the  old  days  on  the 
farm,  when  he  had  bullied  her  and  made  her  the 
scapegoat  for  all  the  offences  he  could  possibly 
load  on  her  slim  shoulders.  One  night  in  the 
woods,  when  Bessie,  wrapped  in  a sheet  and  play- 
ing ghost,  had  frightened  Jake  and  his  mischievous 
friends  away  before  they  could  terrify  the  Camp 
Fire  Girls  as  they  lay  asleep,  had  taught  Bessie 
that  Jake  was  a coward. 

“It’s  Zara  they’re  after— not  me,”  Bessie 
thought  to  herself.  “I’ve  been  out  alone  ever  and 
ever  so  often,  and  there’s  no  one  here  to  hurt  mo. 
I’m  going  to  go  after  Jake  myself,  and  try  to  see 
what  he’s  up  to.” 

At  first  Bessie’s  pursuit  led  her  along  the 
pleasant,  tree-shaded  streets  of  the  suburb  where 


ON  THE  FARM 


21 


the  Mercers  lived.  Bessie  had  never  been  in  the 
city  before  and  all  was  strange  to  her.  But  here 
it  seemed  to  her  that  the  stories  she  had  read  of 
crowded  streets  must  have  been  exaggerated,  for 
she  saw  few  people.  Sometimes  automobiles 
passed  her,  and  delivery  wagons,  and  a few  chil- 
dren were  playing  here  and  there.  But  there 
were  no  high  buildings,  and  it  seemed  almost  as 
peaceful  as  it  had  around  Hedgeville. 

But  then  gradually,  as  she  went  on,  conditions 
changed.  She  crossed  a street  on  which  there 
ran  a street  car  line,  and  there  many  people  were 
passing.  Still  she  managed  to  keep  Jake  Hoover 
in  sight,  and,  though  she  could  not  always  see 
Charlie  Jamieson,  she  supposed  that  Jake  could, 
and  it  was  Jake  she  was  following,  after  all. 

More  than  once  Jake  turned  and  looked  behind 
him,  and  Bessie  had  to  be  constantly  on  her 
guard  lest  he  discover  her.  At  first  it  was  easy 
enough  to  escape  his  eye— she  had  only  to  dodge 
behind  a tree.  But  as  she  drew  nearer  and  nearer 
to  the  business  part  of  the  town  the  trees  began 
to  disappear.  There  was  no  more  green  grass 
between  the  pavement  and  the  street  itself;  the 
pavements  were  narrower,  and  they  were  needed 
for  the  crowds  that  passed  quickly  along.  But 
in  those  very  crowds  Bessie  found  a substitute 
for  the  trees.  She  felt  that  they  would  protect 
her  and  cover  her  movements,  and  she  increased 


22 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


her  pace,  so  that  she  could  get  nearer  to  Jake,( 
and  so  run  less  risk  of  losing  him  in  the  crowd. 

No  one  paid  any  attention  to  her,  and  that 
seemed  strange  to  Bessie,  used  to  the  curiosity  of 
country  folk  regarding  any  stranger,  although 
Zara,  who  knew  more  about  city  life,  had  told  her 
that  it  would  be  so.  She  was  grateful,  anyhow; 
she  wanted  to  be  let  alone.  And  evidently  Jake 
was  profiting  by  the  same  indifference. 

Her  chase  led  her  before  long  into  the  most 
thickly  settled  part  of  the  city.  Trolley  cars 
clanged  past  her  all  the  time  now;  the  center  of 
the  street  was  full  of  vehicles  of  all  sorts,  and,  as 
she  hurried  along,  she  was  hard  put  to  it  to  keep 
her  feet,  so  great  was  the  rush  and  the  hurry  of 
those  with  whom  she  shared  the  pavement. 

Then  she  came  to  a sort  of  central  square,  where 
all  the  business  of  the  town  seemed  to  be  con- 
centrated. On  one  side  was  a great  building.  Out- 
side were  cabs  and  newsboys,  and  Bessie  recog- 
nized it  as  the  station  through  which,  with  Eleanor 
Mercer  and  the  rest  of  the  Camp  Fire  Girls,  she 
had  come  to  the  city.  Bessie  stopped  at  the  curb, 
dazed  and  confused.  Here  she  lost  sight  of  Jake. 

After  her  long  chase  that  seemed  bitterly  hard. 
Had  she  only  known  what  was  coming,  she  would 
have  been  closer  to  him  but,  as  it  was,  she  could 
only  stand  on  the  corner,  looking  helplessly  about, 
on  the  off  chance  that  she  would  again  catch  sight 
of  his  well-known  figure. 


ON  THE  PAEM 


23 


But  luck  was  not  with  her.  Even  someone  far 
better  used  to  the  hustle  and  confusion  of  the  city 
might*  well  have  been  at  a loss.  It  was  the  lunch- 
eon hour,  and  from  all  the  buildings  hundreds  of 
people  were  pouring  out,  making  the  streets  seem 
fuller  than  ever.  And  it  was  not  long  before 
Bessie  decided  with  a sigh  that  she  must  give 
up,  and  find  her  way  home.  She  was  afraid 
Eleanor  Mercer  would  be  worried  and  alarmed  by 
her  absence,  and  she  determined  to  return  as  she 
had  come,  and  as  fast  as  she  could. 

Still,  on  the  way,  surely  she  could  peep  into  one 
of  the  beautiful  store  windows— and  she  did.  For 
a moment  she  stood  there  and  then,  suddenly,  she 
felt  a hand  in  her  pocket.  She  turned  to  see 
whose  it  was— and  looked  up  into  the  evil  eyes  of 
Farmer  Weeks! 

“Stop  her!”  he  cried.  “She  picked  my 
pocket!” 


CHAPTER  III 


AND  AN  OLD  FRIEND  HELPS 

Bessie  gasped  in  sheer  terror,  and  for  a moment 
she  couldn’t  open  her  mouth.  Farmer  Weeks,  his 
weather-beaten  face  twisted  into  a grin  of  malice 
and  dislike,  stood  looking  down  at  her,  his  bony 
hand  gripping  her  wrist.  Even  had  it  been  in 
Bessie’s  mind  to  run  away,  she  could  not  have 
done  it.  And,  as  a matter  of  fact,  the  shock  of 
hearing  his  voice,  of  seeing  him,  and,  above  all,  of 
being  accused  of  such  a thing,  had  deprived  her 
for  the  moment  of  the  use  of  her  legs  as  well  as 
of  the  power  of  speech. 

Then,  while  Farmer  Weeks  lifted  his  voice 
again,  calling  for  a policeman,  Bessie  got  a vivid 
and  sharp  lesson  in  the  interest  a city  crowd  can 
he  induced  to  take  in  anything  out  of  the  ordinary, 
no  matter  how  trifling.  The  pavement  where  they 
stood  was  densely  crowded  already.  Now  more 
people  seemed  to  spring  up  from  nowhere  at  all, 
and  they  were  surrounded  by  a ring  of  people  who 
pressed  against  one  another,  calling  curious  ques- 
tions, all  trying  to  get  into  the  front  rank  to  see 
whatever  was  to  he  seen. 


24 


ON  THE  FARM 


25 


“G-osh  all  hemlock!”  Farmer  Weeks  confided 
to  the  crowd.  ‘ ‘ They  told  me  to  look  out  fer  them 
scalawags  when  I come  to  taown,  but  I swan  I 
didn’t  expect  to  see  a gal  like  that  tryin’  to  lift 
my  wallet.  No,  sir!  But  they  got  to  get  up  pretty 
early  in  the  mornin’  to  fool  me— they  have  that!” 

Even  in  her  fright,  Bessie  divined  at  once  what 
the  old  rascal  was  trying  to  do.  He  was  playing 
the  part  of  the  green  and  unsuspicious  country- 
man, the  farmer  on  a trip,  usually  the  easy  prey 
of  sharpers  of  all  sorts,  and  he  was  doing  it  for 
a purpose— to  wnn  the  sympathy  of  the  crowd.  In 
her  new  clothes  Bessie  looked  enough  like  a city 
girl  to  pass  for  one  easily,  while  Farmer  Weeks 
wore  old-fashioned  clothes  of  rusty  black,  a slouch 
hat,  and  a colored  handkerchief  knotted  about  his 
neck  in  place  of  a scarf.  He  carried  an  old- 
fashioned  cotton  umbrella,  too,  a huge  affair— a 
regular  “bumbleshoot,”  and  he  was  dressed  to 
play  the  part. 

“Hey,  mister,  gimme  a nickel  an’  I’ll  call  a cop 
for  you!”  volunteered  a small,  sharp-faced  boy, 
with  a bundle  of  papers  under  his  arm.  Somehow 
he  had  managed  to  squirm  through  the  crowd. 

Weeks  looked  at  him  reproachfully. 

“You  call  a constable— an’  I’ll  give  you  the 
nickel  when  you  come  back  with  him,”  he  said. 

In  spite  of  her  deplorable  situation,  Bessie 
wanted  to  laugh.  It  was  so  like  Farmer  Weeks, 
the  miser,  to  be  unwilling  to  risk  even  five  cents 


26 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIRLS 


without  being  sure  that  he  would  get  value  for 
his  money ! The  boy  darted  off,  and  Bessie  heard 
half  a dozen  of  the  crowd  make  remarks  applaud- 
ing the  good  sense  of  her  supposed  victim. 

“Ain’t  it  too  bad?”  said  Weeks  tolerantly  to 
the  crowd,  as  he  waited  for  a policeman,  still 
clutching  Bessie’s  hand  tightly.  “Who’d  ever 
think  a pretty  young  gal  like  her  would  try  to 
rob  an  old  man— hey?” 

“Never  can  tell,  Pop,”  said  a keen-eyed  youth, 
who  was  standing  near.  His  eyes  darted  nervous- 
ly about  from  one  face  to  another.  “Them  as 
you  wouldn’t  suspect  naturally  is  the  worst,  as 
a rule— it’s  so  easy  for  them  to  make  a getaway.” 

Then  the  crowd  gave  way,  suddenly,  for  a man 
in  a blue  uniform,  but  Bessie,  still  unable  to  say 
anything,  saw  at  once  it  was  not  a policeman.  But 
it  was  not  until  he  was  quite  close  to  her  that  she 
recognized  him  with  .a  little  thrill  of  joy.  And  at 
the  same  moment  he  recognized  her,  too,  as  well 
as  Farmer  Weeks.  It  was  Tom  Norris,  the 
friendly  train  conductor  who  had  helped  Zara  and 
herself  to  escape  to  Pine  Bridge,  and  out  of  the 
state  in  which  Hedgeville  was  situated. 

“Come,  come,  what’s  this?”  asked  the  train 
conductor,  sharply.  “Let  go  of  that  girl’s  arm, 
you  Weeks!” 

“What  business  is  it  of  your’n?”  asked  Weeks, 
angrily. 

“You  let  her  go,”  said  Norris,  with  determina- 


ON  THE  FARM 


27 


tion,  “or  I’ll  pretty  soon  show  you  what  busi- 
ness it  is  of  mine— I’ll  knock  you  down,  white  hair 
and  all!  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself, 
pickin’  on  the  girl  this  way!” 

He  advanced,  threateningly,  and  none  of  the 
crowd  undertook  to  protect  Weeks  from  his  ob- 
vious anger.  Norris  was  a big,  strong  man,  and, 
for  all  his  kindly  ways,  it  was  evident  that  he 
could  fight  well  if  he  saw  any  reason  for  doing 
it.  And  now,  it  was  plain,  he  thought  the  reason 
was  excellent,  and  he  was  entirely  ready  to  back 
up  what  he  had  to  say  with  his  sturdy  fists.  Weeks 
saw  that  plainly,  and  he  had  reason  to  fear  the 
burly  conductor.  Quickly  he  released  Bessie’s 
wrist,  and  a moment  later  Norris  would  have  had 
her  out  of  the  crush  had  not  the  arrival  of  an- 
other man  in  uniform  created  a diversion.  This 
time  it  really  was  a policeman,  and  he  came  at 
the  heels  of  the  newsboy  who  had  run  after  him. 

“Here’s  yer  cop,  mister!  Now  gimme  the 
nickel!”  said  the  boy  shrilly  to  the  farmer. 

‘ ‘ Run  along ! I never  promised  you  no  nickel,  ’ ’ 
said  Farmer  Weeks,  looking  nervously  at  Norris. 
But  at  that  the  crowd,  which  had  been  disposed 
to  side  with  him,  transferred  its  sympathies  sud- 
denly to  the  cheated  newsboy,  who  was  pouring 
out  a stream  of  angry  words,  the  while  he  clung 
to  Weeks’s  arm,  demanding  his  money. 

Weeks  soon  saw  that  he  had  better  not  try  to 
save  a nickel,  much  as  he  valued  it,  and,  reluc- 


28 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


tantly  enough,  he  drew  a purse  from  his  trousers 
pocket  and  gave  the  boy  his  money,  counting  out 
five  pennies. 

“Here,  here,  what’s  all  this  fuss  about?”  asked 
the  policeman.  He  was  responsible  for  keeping 
order  on  his  post,  and,  before  Weeks  could  answer 
his  question  he  drove  the  crowd  away,  with  sharp 
orders  to  move  on  and  be  quick  about  it.  Then 
he  turned  back  to  the  farmer,  Bessie,  and  the  con- 
ductor, who  had  taken  Bessie’s  hand. 

“Now  then,  whose  pocket  was  picked?  Yours, 
young  lady?” 

“No,  consarn  ye,  mine!”  said  Farmer  Weeks, 
angrily,  as  he  heard  the  question.  “And  she  done 
it,  too— she’s  a slick  one,  she  is!  An’  this  fresh 
railroad  man  here  was  tryin’  to  help  her  get  away. 
Like  as  not  they  work  together,  an’  he  was  fixin’ 
to  have  her  give  him  half  of  what  she  got.” 

Norris  smiled  at  the  policeman. 

“You  know  me,  Mike,”  he  said.  “Think  I’m 
in  that  sort  of  business?” 

“Begorra,  an’  I know  ye’re  not!”  said  the  po- 
liceman, indignantly.  “Talk  straight,  now,  you 
old  Rube,  an’  tell  me  what  it  is  you’re  tryin’  to 
say.  What  sort  of  a charge  ye’re  after  rnakin’?” 

“She  put  her  hand  in  my  pocket — an’  she  stole 
my  wallet,”  said  Farmer  Weeks.  “She’s  got  it 
in  her  pocket  now— her  right  hand  pocket!” 

“How  do  you  know  that?”  asked  the  policeman, 
sharply. 


ON  THE  FARM 


29 


“How— why  shouldn’t  I know?  Look  and  see 
for  yourself—” 

But  there  was  no  need.  Bessie  herself,  tears  in 
her  eyes,  plunged  her  hand  into  the  pocket  Weeks 
had  named— and,  to  her  consternation,  the  wallet 
came  out  in  her  hand.  She  stared  at  it  in  stupe- 
faction. 

“I  don’t  know  how  it  got  there ! I never  saw  it 
before!”  she  exclaimed. 

“ H ’m ! This  looks  pretty  bad,  Tom,”  said  the 
policeman.  “Is  this  young  lady  a friend  of 
yours ? ’ ’ 

“She  is  that,”  said  Tom,  stoutly.  “And  I’ll  go 
bail  for  her  anywhere.  She  never  picked  that  old 
i scalawag’s  pocket.  I know  him  well,  Mike,  and 
I’ve  never  known  any  good  of  him.  He  never 
rides  on  my  train  without  tryin’  to  beat  the  com- 
pany out  of  the  fare— uses  every  old  trick  you 
* ever  heard  of.  Many’s  the  time  I’ve  had  to 
threaten  to  put  him  off:  between  stations  before 
he’d  fork  over  the  money.” 

But  Mike,  the  policeman,  looked  doubtful,  as 
well  he  might,  and  there  was  a gleam  of  evil 
triumph  in  the  farmer’s  eyes. 

“Listen  here!”  said  Tom,  suddenly.  “He  says 
that’s  his  wallet,  and  he’s  makin’  enough  fuss  for 
it  to  have  a thousand  dollars  inside.  But  when  he 
) paid  the  boy  he  took  a purse  from  his  pocket  to 
get  the  money.” 

“That’s  right.  I seen  him  myself,”  said  Mike, 


30 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


still  scratching  his  head.  “I’ll  just  have  a look 
inside  that  pocket-book.” 

“Ye  will  not— that’s  my  property!”  said  Far- 
mer Weeks,  reaching  quickly  for  the  wallet. 

But  Mike  was  too  quick  for  him,  and  in  a mo- 
ment he  had  opened  the  wallet,  and  could  see  that 
it  was  empty,  except  for  a few  torn  pieces  of 
paper,  evidently  put  in  it  to  stuff  it  out,  and  de- 
ceive people  into  thinking  that  it  contained  a wad 
of  bills. 

“What  sort  of  game  are  yez  tryin’  to  put  up 
on  us  here?”  demanded  the  policeman,  angrily. 
“Here,  take  yer  hook—” 

“She’s  as  much  guilty  of  theft  as  if  there  had 
been  a hundred  dollars  in  it,”  said  Farmer  Weeks, 
recovering  from  his  dismay  at  the  exposure  of  the 
trick.  “You  arrest  her  or  I’ll—” 

“What  will  yez  do,  ye  spalpeen?”  said  the 
policeman.  “If  ye  get  gay  wid  me  I’ll  run  yez  in 
—and  don’t  be  afther  forgettin’  that,  either!” 

As  he  spoke  he  turned,  angrily,  to  observe  a 
small  hoy  who  was  tugging  at  his  sleeve. 

“Say,  mister,  say,”  begged  the  boy,  “listen 
here  a minute,  will  yer?  I seen  the  old  guy  slip 
his  purse  into  her  pocket.  She  never  took  it.” 

Tom’s  eyes,  as  he  heard,  lighted  up. 

“By  Gad,  Mike,  that’s  what  he  did!”  he  ex- 
claimed. ‘ ‘ Did  you  hear  how  ready  he  was  to  tell 
just  which  pocket  she  had  it  in?  How’d  he  have 
known  that— unless  he  put  it  there,  eh?” 


ON  THE  FAEM 


31 


“It’s  a lie!”  stormed  Farmer  Weeks.  “Here, 
are  you  going  to  lock  that  girl  up  as  a thief  or 
not?” 

“Indade  and  I’m  not,”  said  the  officer,  warmly. 
“Drop  her  wrist— quick!” 

He  stepped  forward  as  he  spoke,  and  Weeks, 
seeing  by  the  gleam  in  the  Irishman’s  eye  that  he 
had  gone  too  far,  quickly  released  Bessie.  As  she 
moved  away  from  him  he  stood  still,  red-eyed  and 
trembling  with  rage. 

“An’  what’s  more,  you  old  scalawag,”  said  the 
policeman,  “I’m  going  to  run  you  in.  Maybe  you 
never  heard  tell  of  perjury,  but  it’s  worse  than 
pickin’  pockets,  let  me  tell  you.” 

His  heavy  hand  dropped  to  Weeks’s  shoulder, 
but  he  was  too  slow.  With  a yell  of  fright  the  old 
farmer,  displaying  an  agility  with  which  no  one 
would  have  been  ready  to  credit  him,  turned  and 
dove  headlong  through  the  crowd. 

The  policeman  started  to  give  chase,  but  Tom 
Norris  restrained  him.  He  was  laughing  heartily. 

“What’s  the  use?  Let  him  be,  Mike,”  he  said. 
“My,  but  it  was  as  good  as  a play  to  see  you 
handle  him.  Gush!  Watch  the  old  beggar  run, 
will  you?” 

Indeed,  Weeks  was  running  as  fast  as  he  could, 
and,  even  as  they  watched  him,  he  disappeared 
inside  the  station. 

“That’s  a good  riddance.  Maybe  he’ll  go  home 
and  stay  there,”  said  the  conductor.  “He  won’t 


32 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


try  his  dirty  tricks  on  yon  again,  ’ ’ he  added,  turn- 
ing to  Bessie.  “If  he  does,  you’ll  have  a friend 
in  Mike,  here.” 

“True  for  you,  Tom  Norris!”  said  the  police- 
man. “I’m  glad  ye  turned  up,  boy.  Ye  saved 
me  from  makin’  a fool  of  meself,  I’m  thinkin’. 
The  old  omadhoun ! To  think  he’d  put  up  a job 
like  that  on  a slip  of  a girl,  and  him  ould  enough 
to  be  her  father— or  her  grandfather!” 

“Well,  I’ve  helped  you  out  again,  haven’t  I?” 
said  Tom  Norris.  “Are  you  living  here  in  the 
city  now?  Suppose  you  tell  me  why  old  Weeks 
is  so  mean  to  you,  now  that  we ’ve  the  time.  ’ ’ 

“I  will,  and  gladly,”  said  Bessie.  “But  I 
haven’t  so  very  much  time.  Can  you  walk  with 
me  as  I go  home  ? ’ ’ 

So,  with  Tom  Norris  to  look  after  her,  Bessie 
began  her  trip  back  to  the  Mercer  house,  and,  on 
the  way,  she  told  him  the  story  of  her  flight  from 
Hedgeville,  and  the  adventures  that  had  happened 
since  its  beginning. 

“I  suppose  I was  foolish  to  go  after  Jake 
Hoover  that  way,”  she  concluded,  “but  I thought 
I might  be  able  to  help.  I didn’t  like  to  see  him 
following  Mr.  Jamieson  that  way,  when  he  was 
trying  to  be  so  nice  to  us.” 

“Maybe  you  were  foolish,”  said  Tom.  “But 
don’t  let  it  worry  you  too  much.  You  meant  well, 
and  I guess  there’s  lots  of  us  are  foolish  without 
having  as  good  an  excuse  as  that.” 


ON  THE  FARM 


33 


“Oh,  there’s  Mr.  Jamieson  now!”  cried  Bessie, 
suddenly  spying  the  young  lawyer  on  the  other 
side  of  the  street.  “I  think  I’d  better  tell  him 
what’s  happened,  don’t  you,  Mr.  Norris!” 

“I  do  indeed.  Stay  here,  I’ll  run  over.  The 
young  fellow  with  the  brown  suit,  is  it!” 

Bessie  nodded,  and  Tom  Norris  ran  across  the 
street  and  was  back  in  a moment  with  Jamieson, 
who  was  mightily  surprised  to  see  Bessie,  whom 
he  had  left  only  a short  time  before  at  the  Mercer 
house.  He  frowned  very  thoughtfully  as  he  heard 
her  story. 

“I’m  not  going  to  scold  you  for  taking  such  a 
risk,”  he  said.  “I  really  didn’t  think,  either,  that 
it  was  you  they  would  try  to  harm.  I thought  your 
friend  Zara  was  the  only  one  who  was  in  danger.” 

“I  suppose  they’d  try  to  get  hold  of  Miss  Bessie 
here,  though,”  said  the  conductor,  “because  they’d 
think  she’d  be  a good  witness,  perhaps,  if  there 
was  any  business  in  court.  I don’t  know  much 
about  the  law,  except  I think  it’s  a good  thing  to 
keep  clear  of.” 

“You  bet  it  is,”  said  Jamieson,  with  a laugh. 

“That’s  fine  talk,  from  a lawyer!”  smiled  Tom 
Norris.  “Ain’t  it  your  business  to  get  people  into 
lawsuits  ! ’ ’ 

“Not  a bit  of  it!”  said  Jamieson.  “A  good 
lawyer  keeps  his  clients  out  of  court.  He  saves 
money  for  them  that  way,  and  they  run  less  risk 
of  being  beaten.  The  biggest  eases  I have  never 


34 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


get  into  eourt  at  all.  It’s  only  the  shyster  lawyers, 
like  Isaac  Brack,  who  are  always  going  to  court, 
whether  there’s  any  real  reason  for  it  or  not.” 

‘ ( Brack?”  said  Tom.  “Why,  say,  I know  him! 
And,  what’s  more,  this  man  Weeks  does,  too. 
Brack’s  his  lawyer.  I heard  that  a long  time  ago. 
Brack  gets  about  half  the  cases  against,  the  rail- 
road, too.  Whenever  there’s  a little  accident, 
Brack  hunts  up  the  people  who  might  have  been 
hurt,  and  tries  to  get  damages  for  them.  Only,  if 
he  wins  a case  for  them,  he  keeps  most  of  the 
money— and  if  they  lose  he  charges  them  enough 
so  that  he  comes  out  ahead,  anyhow.” 

“That’s  the  fellow,”  Jamieson  said.  “We’ll 
get  him  disbarred  sooner  or  later,  too.  He’s  a 
bad  egg.  I’m  glad  to  know  I’ve  got  to  fight  him 
in  this  case.  If  this  young  Hoover  was  following 
me,  I’ll  bet  Brack  had  something  to  do  with  it.” 

“He  was  certainly  following  you,”  said  Bessie. 
“Whenever  you  turned  around  he  got  behind  a 
tree  or  something,  so  that  you  wouldn’t  see  him.” 

“He  needn’t  have  been  so  careful.  He  might 
have  walked  right  next  to  me  all  the  way  into 
town,  and  I’d  never  have  suspected  him.  As  it 
happened,  I wasn’t  going  anywhere  this  morning 
1 — anywhere  in  particular,  I mean.  It  wouldn’t 
have  made  any  difference  if  Brack  had  known  just 
what  I was  doing.  But  I’m  mighty  glad  to  know 
that  he  is  trying  to  spy  on  me,  Bessie.  In  the 
next  few  days  I’m  apt  to  do  some  things  I wouldn’t 


ON  THE  FARM 


35 


want  him  to  know  about  at  all,  and  now  that  I’m 
warned  I’ll  be  able  to  keep  my  eyes  and  my  ears 
open,  and  I guess  Brack  and  his  spies  will  have 
some  trouble  in  gettting  on  to  anything  I choose 
to  keep  hidden  from  them.” 

“That’s  the  stuff!”  approved  Tom.  “I  told 
Miss  Bessie  here  she’d  done  all  right.  She  meant 
well,  even  if  she  did  run  a foolish  risk.  And 
there’s  no  harm  done.” 

“Well,  we’d  better  hurry  home,”  said  Jamie- 
son. “I  don’t  want  them  to  be  worried  about  you, 
Bessie,  so  I ’ll  take  you  home  in  a taxicab.  ’ ’ 

The  cab  took  them  swiftly  toward  the  Mercer 
house.  When  they  were  still  two  or  three  blocks 
away  Jamieson  started  and  pointed  out  a man  on 
the  sidewalk  to  Bessie. 

“There’s  Brack  now!”  he  exclaimed.  “See, 
Bessie?  That  little  man,  with  the  eyeglasses. 
He’s  up  to  some  mischief.  I wonder  what  he’s 
doing  out  this  way?” 

When  they  arrived,  Eleanor  Mercer,  her  eyes 
showing  that  she  was  worried,  was  waiting  for 
them  on  the  porch. 

“Oh,  I’m  so  glad  you’re  here!”  she  exclaimed. 

“I’m  so  sorry  if  you  were  worried  about  me, 
Miss  Eleanor,”  said  Bessie,  remorsefully. 

“I  wasn’t,  though,”  said  Eleanor.  “It’s  Zara! 
She’s  upstairs,  crying  her  eyes  out  and  she  won’t 
answer  me  when  I try  to  get  her  to  tell  me  what’s 
wrong.  You’d  better  see  her,  Bessie.” 


CHAPTER  IV 


A NEW  DANGER 

Alarmed  at  this  news  of  Zara,  Bessie  hurried 
upstairs  at  once  to  the  room  the  two  girls  shared. 
She  found  her  chum  on  the  bed,  crying  as  if  her 
heart  would  break. 

“Why,  Zara,  what’s  the  matter?  Why  are  you 
crying?”  she  asked. 

But  try  as  she  might,  Bessie  could  get  no  answer 
at  all  from  Zara  for  a long  time. 

“Have  I done  anything  to  make  you  feel  bad? 
Has  anything  gone  wrong  here?”  urged  Bessie. 
“If  you’ll  only  tell  us  what’s  the  matter,  dear, 
we’ll  straighten  it  out.  Can’t  you  trust  me?” 

“N— nothing’s  happened— you  haven’t  done 
anything,”  Zara  managed  to  say  at  last. 

‘ ‘ Surely  nothing  Miss  Eleanor  has  said  has  hurt 
you,  Zara?  I’m  certain  she’d  feel  terrible  if  she 
thought  you  were  crying  because  of  anything  she 
had  done!” 

Zara  shook  her  head  vehemently  at  that,  but  her 
sobs  only  seemed  to  come  harder  than  before. 

Bessie  was  thoroughly  puzzled.  She  knew  that 
Zara,  brought  up  in  a foreign  country,  did  not 

36 


ON  THE  FARM 


37 


always  understand  American  ways.  Sometimes, 
when  Bessie  had  first  known  her,  little  jesting  re- 
marks, which  couldn’t  have  been  taken  amiss  by 
any  American  girl,  had  reduced  her  to  tears.  And 
Bessie  thought  it  entirely  possible  that  someone, 
either  Miss  Eleanor,  or  her  mother,  or  one  of  the 
Mercer  servants,  might  have  offended  Zara  with- 
out in  the  least  meaning  to  do  so. 

But  Zara  seemed  determined  to  keep  the  cause 
of  her  woe  to  herself.  Not  all  of  Bessie’s  plead- 
ing could  make  her  answer  the  simplest  questions. 
Finally,  seeming  to  feel  a little  better,  she  man- 
aged to  speak  more  coherently. 

“Leave  me  alone  for  a little  while,  please, 
Bessie,”  she  begged.  “I’ll  be  all  right  then— 
really  I will ! ’ ’ 

So  Bessie,  reluctantly  enough,  had  to  go  down- 
stairs, since  she  understood  thoroughly  that  to 
keep  on  pressing  Zara  for  an  explanation  while 
she  was  in  such  a nervous  state  would  do  more 
harm  than  good. 

“Could  you  find  out  what  was  wrong?”  asked 
Eleanor  anxiously  when  Bessie  came  down. 
Charlie  Jamieson  was  still  with  her  on  the  porch, 
smoking  a cigar  and  frowning  as  if  he  were  think- 
ing of  something  very  unpleasant.  He  was,  as  a 
matter  of  fact.  He  was  changing  all  his  ideas  of 
the  case  in  which  Eleanor’s  encounter  with  the 
two  girls  had  involved  him,  since,  with  Brack  for 
an  opponent,  he  knew  only  too  well  that  he  was 


38 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


in  for  a hard  fight,  and  if,  as  he  supposed,  the 
opposition  was  entirely  without  a reasonable  case, 
a fight  in  which  dirty  and  unfair  methods  were 
sure  to  be  employed. 

Bessie  shook  her  head. 

“She  wouldn’t  tell  me  anything— just  begged 
me  to  leave  her  alone  and  said  she’d  be  all  right 
presently,”  she  answered.  “I’ve  seen  her  this 
way  before  and,  really,  there’s  nothing  to  do  but 
wait  until  she  feels  better.” 

“You’ve  seen  her  this  way  before,  you  say?” 
said  Jamieson,  quickly.  “What  was  the  matter 
then?  What  made  her  act  so?  If  we  know  why 
she  did  it  before,  perhaps  it  will  give  us  a clew 
to  why  she  is  behaving  in  such  a queer  fashion 
now.  ’ ’ 

Bessie  hesitated. 

“She’s  awfully  sensitive,”  she  said.  “Some- 
times, when  people  have  just  joked  with  her  a 
little  bit,  without  meaning  to  say  anything  nasty 
at  all,  she’s  thought  they  were  angry  at  her,  or 
laughing  at  her  for  being  a foreigner,  and  she’s 
gone  off  just  like  this.  I thought  at  first—” 

“Yes?”  said  Eleanor,  encouragingly,  when 
Bessie  stopped.  “Don’t  be  afraid  to  tell  us  what 
you  think,  Bessie.  We  just  want  to  get  to  the 
bottom  of  this  strange  fit  of  hers,  you  know.  ’ ’ 

“Well,  it  seems  awfully  mean  to  say  it,”  said 
poor  Bessie,  “when  you’ve  been  so  lovely  to  us, 
hut  I thought  maybe  someone  had  joked  about  her 


ON  THE  FAEM 


39 


in  some  way.  You  know  she  sometimes  pronounces 
words  in  a funny  fashion,  as  if  she’d  only  read 
them,  and  had  never  heard  anyone  speak  them.  In 
Hedgeville  lots  of  people  used  to  laugh  at  her  for 
that.  I think  that’s  why  she  stopped  going  to 
school.  And  I thought,  perhaps,  that  was  what 
was  the  matter—” 

“It  might  have  happened,  of  course,”  said 
Eleanor,  “and  without  anyone  meaning  to  hurt 
her  feelings.  I’d  be  very  careful  myself,  but  some 
of  the  other  people  around  the  house  wouldn’t 
know,  of  course.  But,  no,  that  won’t  explain  it, 
Bessie.  Not  this  time.” 

“Are  you  sure,  Eleanor?”  asked  Jamieson. 

“Positive,”  she  answered.  “Because,  after 
you  went  off,  she  was  out  here  with  me  for  quite 
a long  time.  Then  I was  called  inside,  and  I’m 
quite  sure  no  one  from  the  house  saw  her  at  all 
after  that  until  I found  her  crying.  She’d  been 
outside  on  the  porch  all  the  time—” 

“Aha!”  cried  Jamieson,  then.  “If  no  one  in 
the  house  here  talked  to  her,  someone  from  outside 
must  have  done  it.  Listen,  Bessie.  She  wouldn’t 
go  off  that  way  just  from  brooding,  would  she, 
just  from  thinking  about  things?” 

“No,  I’m  quite  sure  she  wouldn’t,  Mr.  Jamie- 
son. She’s  felt  bad  two  or  three  times  since  we 
left  Hedgeville,  when  she  got  to  thinking  about 
her  father’s  troubles,  and  everything  of  that  sort. 
But  she’s  always  told  me  about  it  and  it  hasn’t 


40 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIRLS 


made  her  feel  just  as  she  seems  to  now,  anyhow.” 

“Well,  then,  can’t  you  see?  No  one  here  said 
anything  to  her  so  it  must  have  been  someone  who 
isn’t  in  the  house— someone  who  spoke  to  her  after 
you  left  her  out  here  alone,  Eleanor.  And  I know 
who  it  was,  too ! ’ ’ 

“That  nasty  looking  man  you  pointed  out  to 
me  as  we  were  coming  along  with  Mr.  Norris?” 
cried  Bessie. 

“Yes,  indeed— Brack!”  said  Jamieson.  “He’s 
just  the  one  who  would  do  it,  too!  Oh,  I tell  you, 
one  has  to  look  out  for  him!  He’s  as  mean  as  a 
man  could  be  and  still  live,  I guess.  I’ve  heard  of 
more  harsh,  miserable  things  he’s  done  than  I 
could  tell  you  in  a week.  Whenever  he’s  around 
it’s  a warning  to  look  out  for  trouble.  Suppose 
you  go  up  to  her,  Bessie,  and  see  if  mentioning  his 
name  will  loosen  her  tongue.” 

But  just  as  she  was  entering  the  house  Zara, 
with  only  her  reddened  eyes  to  show  that  she  had 
been  crying  at  all,  came  out  on  the  porch. 

“I’m  ever  so  ashamed  of  myself,  Miss  Eleanor, ’ ’ 
she  said,  smiling  pluckily.  “I  suppose  you  think 
I’m  an  awful  cry-baby,  but  I was  just  feeling  bad 
about  my  father  and  everything,  and  I couldn’t 
seem  to  help  it.” 

Bessie  looked  at  Zara  in  astonishment.  To  the 
eyes  of  those  who  didn’t  know  her  as  well  as 
Bessie,  Zara  might  seem  to  be  all  right,  but  Bessie 
could  see  that  her  chum  was  still  frightened  and 


ON  THE  FARM 


41 


weak.  She  wondered  why  Zara  was  acting,  for 
acting  she  was.  She  meant  that  Miss  Mercer 
and  everyone  should  think  that  her  fit  of  depres- 
sion had  been  only  temporary,  and  that  now 
everything  was  all  right.  And  Bessie,  loyal  as 
ever,  decided  to  help  her. 

But  when  Charlie  Jamieson  took  his  leave  again 
to  go  back  to  his  office  and  his  interrupted  work, 
he  looked  at  her  keenly  and  when  he  started  to  go 
he  took  Bessie  by  the  hand  playfully  and  pulled 
her  off  the  porch,  and  out  of  sight  of  the  others. 

“Listen,”  he  said,  earnestly,  “there’s  some- 
thing more  than  we  know  about  or  can  guess  very 
easily  the  matter  with  your  friend,  Bessie.  She’s 
been  frightened— badly  frightened.  And  it’s  dol- 
lars to  doughnuts  that  it’s  that  scoundrel  Brack 
who ’s  frightened  her,  too.  Keep  your  eyes  on  her 
—see  that  she  doesn’t  get  a chance  to  speak  to 
him  or  anyone  else  alone.” 

“Do  you  think  there’s  any  danger  of  his  coming 
back?”  asked  Bessie,  alarmed  by  his  serious  tone. 

“I  don’t  know,  Bessie,  but  I do  know  Brack. 
And  I’ve  found  out  this  much  about  him.  He’s 
like  a rabbit— he’ll  fight  when  he’s  driven  into  a 
corner.  And  the  time  he’s  most  dangerous  is 
when  he  seems  to  be  beaten,  when  it  looks  as  if  he 
hadn’t  a leg  to  stand  on.” 

‘ 1 Do  you  think  he ’s  beaten  now,  Mr.  J amieson  ? ’ ’ 

“No,  I don’t!  And  just  because  he’s  the  man 
he  is.  If  it  were  anyone  else,  I’d  say  yes,  because 


42 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


I don’t  see  what  they  can  expect  to  do.  But  you 
can  depend  upon  it  that  Brack  has  some  dirty 
trick  up  his  sleeve,  and  from  all  you  tell  me  of 
this  man  Weeks,  he’s  the  same  sort  of  an  ugly 
customer.  So  you  keep  your  eyes  open,  and  if 
anything  happens  to  worry  you,  call  me  up  right 
away.  Get  me  at  my  office  if  it’s  before  five 
o’clock;  after  that,  call  up  this  number.” 

He  wrote  down  a telephone  number  on  a slip  of 
paper  and  handed  it  to  Bessie. 

“That’s  the  telephone  at  my  home,  and  if  I’m 
not  there  myself  ask  for  my  servant,  Farrell.  He’ll 
be  there,  and  he’ll  manage  to  get  word  to  me 
somehow,  no  matter  where  I am.  ’ ’ 

“Oh,  I do  hope  I shan’t  have  to  bother  you,  Mr. 
Jamieson.” 

“Don’t  you  worry  about  that.  That’s  what  I’m 
here  for,  to  be  bothered,  as  you  call  it,  if  there’s 
any  need  of  me.  Remember  that  you  can’t  do 
everything  yourself— and  you  may  only  get  into 
trouble  yourself  without  really  helping  if  you  try 
to  do  it  all.  So  call  on  me  if  there  ’s  any  need.  And, 
whatever  you  do,  don’t  let  Zara  go  out  of  the 
house  alone  on  any  pretence.  Remember  that, 
will  you ! ’ ’ 

“I  certainly  will,  Mr.  Jamieson.  You’re  awfully 
good  to  us,  and  I know  Zara  would  be  grateful, 
too,  if  she  were  herself.  She  will  be  as  soon  as 
all  this  trouble  is  over.” 

“I  know  that,  Bessie.  Don’t  you  fuss  around 


ON  THE  FARM 


43 


being  grateful  to  me  until  I’ve  really  done  some- 
thing for  you.  You  know,  you’re  the  sort  of  girl 
I like.  You’ve  got  pluck,  and  you  don’t  get  dis- 
couraged, like  so  many  girls— though  Heaven 
knows  you’ve  had  enough  trouble  to  make  you  as 
nervous  as  any  of  them.” 

“I  get  awfully  frightened.  Indeed,  I do!” 

“Of  course  you  do,  but  you’ve  got  pluck  enough 
to  admit  it.  Remember  this : the  real  hero  is  the 
man  who  does  what’s  right,  and  what  he  knows  he 
ought  to  do,  even  if  he’s  scared  so  that  he’s  shak- 
ing like  a leaf.  Any  fool  can  do  a thing  if  it 
doesn’t  frighten  him  to  do  it,  and  he  doesn’t  de- 
serve any  special  credit  for  that.  The  real  bravery 
is  the  sort  a man  shows  when  he  goes  into  battle, 
for  instance,  and  wants  to  turn  around  and  run 
as  soon  as  he  hears  the  bullets  singing  over  his 
head.  ’ ’ 

“I’m  sure  I would  want  to  do  just  that — ” 

“But  you  wouldn’t!  That’s  the  point,  you  see. 
And  you  always  think  things  are  going  to  be  all 
right.  That’s  fine— because  about  half  the  time, 
we  can  control  the  things  that  happen  to  us.  If 
we  think  everything  will  come  right  in  the  end,  we 
can  usually  make  them  work  out  our  way.  But 
if  we  start  in  thinking  that  nothing  is  going  to  be 
right,  why,  then  we’re  licked  before  we  begin,  and 
there’s  not  much  use  trying  at  all.  Now,  you 
didn’t  say  Zara  would  feel  differently  if  things 
came  out  right.  You  said  she  would  when  every- 


44 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


thing  was  straightened  out.  And  that’s  the  spirit 
that  wins.  Try  to  put  some  more  of  it  into  her, 
and  try  to  make  her  tell  you  what  happened,  too.” 

But  all  of  Bessie’s  efforts  to  win  Zara’s  con- 
fidence that  day  were  in  vain.  Zara,  however, 
seemed  to  be  all  right.  She  was  brighter  and  live- 
lier than  she  had  been  since  Bessie  had  known 
her.  All  day  long  she  laughed  and  burst  into  little 
snatches  of  song,  and  Miss  Mercer  was  delighted. 

Nevertheless  Bessie  wasn’t  satisfied,  and  she 
kept  a close  watch  on  Zara  all  day.  It  seemed 
time  wasted,  however.  Zara  made  no  attempt  to 
keep  away  from  her ; seemed  anxious,  indeed,  to  be 
with  her  chum,  that  they  might  talk  over  their 
plans  for  winning  enough  honors  as  Camp  Fire 
Girls  to  become  Fire-Makers. 

Had  Bessie ’s  eyes  and  her  perceptions  been  less 
keen  she  would  have  thought  her  first  idea,  the  one 
she  shared  with  Charlie  Jamieson,  a mistaken 
one.  But  more  than  once,  when  Zara  thought  she 
was  unobserved,  and  was  therefore  off  her  guard, 
Bessie  saw  the  corners  of  her  mouth  droop  and  a 
wistful  look  come  into  her  eyes.  There  was  fear 
in  those  eyes,  too,  though  of  what,  Bessie  could  not 
imagine. 

It  was  long  after  midnight  that  night  when. 
Bessie  was  aroused,  she  scarcely  knew  how.  Some 
instinct  led  her  to  turn  on  the  light— and  she  could 
scarcely  repress  a scream  when  she  saw  that  Zara’s 
bed  was  empty ! 


CHAPTEB  Y 


STRANGE  SUSPICION'S 

For  a moment  she  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  dazed,  wondering  what  could  have  hap- 
pened. The  door  was  closed.  Bessie  rushed  to  it, 
and  looked  out,  but  there  was  no  sign  of  Zara  in 
the  hall.  She  listened  intently.  The  house  was 
silent,  with  the  silence  that  broods  over  a well  reg- 
ulated house  at  night,  when  everyone  is  or  ought 
to  be  asleep.  But  then  there  was  a noise  from 
outside— a noise  that  came  through  the  windows, 
from  the  street. 

Bessie  rushed  back  into  the  room  and  over  to 
the  window.  She  knew  now  that  the  noise  she 
heard  was  the  same  one  that  had  awakened  her. 

And,  looking  out  of  the  window,  Bessie  saw 
what  had  made  the  noise— a big,  green  automobile, 
that,  even  as  she  looked,  was  gliding  slowly  but 
with  increasing  speed  away  from  the  Mercer 
house.  She  stood  rooted  to  the  spot,  unable  to 
cry  out,  or  to  make  a move.  But  somehow,  though 
she  could  never  explain  afterward  how  it  hap- 
pened, since  the  importance  of  it  did  not  strike 
her  at  all  at  the  time,  Bessie  managed  to  get  a 

45 


46 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


mental  photograph  of  one  thing  that  was  to  prove 
important  in  the  extreme— the  number  of  the  auto- 
mobile, plainly  visible  in  the  light  of  the  tail 
lamp  that  shone  full  upon  it.  The  figures  were 
registered  in  her  brain  as  if  she  had  studied  them 
for  an  hour  in  the  effort  to  memorize  them— 4587. 

Then,  when  the  car  was  out  of  sight  around  the 
corner,  Bessie’s  power  of  movement  seemed  to  be 
restored  to  her  as  mysteriously  as  it  had  been 
taken  away.  Her  first  impulse  was  to  cry  out  and 
arouse  the  household.  But  the  futility  of  that 
soon  struck  her,  and  she  remembered  what  Charlie 
Jamieson  had  said.  If  anything  happened,  if  she 
was  frightened,  she  was  to  call  on  him.  And  cer- 
tainly something  had  happened.  Of  her  alarm 
there  could  be  no  doubt.  She  was  shaking  like  a 
leaf,  as  if  she  were  exposed  to  a cold  wind,  al- 
though the  night  was  hot  and  even  sultry. 

Swiftly  she  sought  for  and  found  the  telephone 
number  the  lawyer  had  written  down  for  her. 
Then,  in  her  bare  feet,  lest  she  make  a noise  and 
arouse  the  whole  household,  she  crept  downstairs 
to  reach  the  telephone. 

“Oh,  I do  hope  they  won’t  see  me  or  hear  me,” 
she  breathed  to  herself.  “There’s  nothing  they 
can  do,  and  maybe,  if  I get  hold  of  Mr.  J amieson 
at  once,  we  can  have  Zara  back  before  they  know 
she’s  gone.” 

At  that  hour  of  the  night  it  was  hard  work  to 
get  the  connection  she  wanted,  and  Bessie  chafed 


ON  THE  FAEM 


47 


at  the  delay,  knowing  that  every  moment  might  he 
precious,  were  Zara  in  real  danger.  But  she  got 
the  number  at  last,  after  Central  had  tried  to  com 
vince  her  no  one  would  answer  at  such  a time. 

“What’s  happened?  Has  something  gone 
wrong?”  Jamieson  asked  anxiously  as  soon  as 
he  recognized  her  voice. 

“Oh,  I’m  terribly  afraid  it  has— and  it  was  all 
my  fault!  I was  asleep,  Mr.  Jamieson— and 
Zara’s  gone!” 

“By  herself,  or  don’t  you  know?” 

“I  don’t  know  positively,  but  I think  she  was 
taken  off  in  a big  automobile.  But,  Mr.  Jamieson, 
I think  she  wanted  to  go!” 

“Why,  what  makes  you  think  that?” 

“She’s  taken  all  the  things  that  were  given  to 
her.  And  then,  she  got  out  so  quietly  that  I didn’t 
hear  her.  If  anyone  had  carried  her  away,  they’d 
have  waked  me  up,  I’m  sure.” 

“That’s  bad— if  she  went  away  of  her  own  ac- 
cord. Makes  it  harder  to  find  her,  harder  to  get 
her  back.” 

“What  shall  we  do,  Mr.  Jamieson?  You  will 
try  to  get  her  back,  won’t  you,  even  if  she  did  go 
with  them  willingly?” 

“Yes,  yes,  of  course!  I’ll  come  out  right  away. 
Better  not  tell  the  others  yet,  if  you  haven’t  done 
it  already.” 

Then  Bessie  told  him  about  the  automobile,  and 
the  number  she  had  seen. 


48 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“Oh,  that’s  different!”  he  exclaimed.  “There’s 
no  use  my  coming  to  the  house  then— not  right 
away,  at  least.  I’ll  find  out  whose  car  that  is 
right  away— and  then  perhaps  we’ll  be  able  to 
get  a clue  more  quickly.  Someone  is  almost  sure 
to  have  noticed  that  number,  you  see.  Policemen 
have  a way  of  keeping  their  eyes  on  car  numbers 
as  late  as  this,  just  on  the  chance  that  there  may 
be  something  wrong  about  people  who  are  chasing 
around  in  this  town  when  they  ought  to  be  in  bed. 
You  go  back  to  sleep,  if  you  can.  I’ll  let  you 
know  as  soon  as  there ’s  something  new.  ’ ’ 

“I  don’t  see  how  I can  sleep,  Mr.  Jamieson. 
Isn’t  there  something  I can  do,  please?  That 
would  make  me  feel  ever  so  much  better,  I’m 
sure.  ’ ’ 

“I  know,  I know!  But  there  isn’t  a thing  you 
can  do  to-night.  There’s  precious  little  I can 
do,  for  that  matter,  myself.  You  get  some  rest, 
so  that  you’ll  be  fresh  and  strong  in  the  morning. 
No  telling  what  may  turn  up  then;  and  we  may 
need  you  to  do  a whole  lot.  Got  to  keep  yourself 
in  condition,  you  know.  Remember  that,  always. 
That’s  the  way  to  help.  Good-night!  I’m  going 
to  hurry  out  now  and  see  what  I can  find  out 
about  that  car.” 

So  Bessie  went  back  to  her  room,  and,  knowing 
that  the  lawyer  had  given  her  good  advice  when 
he  had  urged  her  to  rest,  she  tried  hard  to  go  to 
sleep  again.  But  trying  to  sleep  and  actually 


ON  THE  FARM 


49 


doing  it  are  very  different,  and  Bessie  tossed  rest- 
lessly for  the  remainder  of  the  night.  The  sun, 
shining  through  her  window  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, was  the  most  welcome  of  all  possible  sights, 
and  she  got  up  and  dressed,  glad  that  the  night 
of  inactivity  was  over,  and  that  the  time  for 
action,  if  action  there  was  to  be,  was  at  hand. 

Eleanor  was  shocked  and  frightened  when  she 
heard  what  had  happened. 

“I’m  sorry  you  didn’t  wake  me,  Bessie,”  she 
said.  “It  must  have  been  dreadful  for  you,  wait- 
ing for  morning  all  alone  up  there.  We  could 
have  talked,  anyhow,  and  sometimes  that  helps 
a good  deal.” 

“Well,  I didn’t  see  any  use  in  spoiling  the  night 
for  you  and  I’d  have  stayed  awake  anyhow,  I 
think,  even  if  I hadn’t  been  alone.  So  there  was 
no  use  keeping  you  up  and  awake,  too.” 

“I’ll  telephone  at  once  and  see  if  anything 
has  been  found  out,  Bessie.  Then  we’ll  know 
better  what  to  do.  But  I’m  afraid  there’s  not 
much  that  we  can  do— not  just  now.” 

Jamieson  was  not  in  his  office,  or  at  his  home, 
when  Eleanor  telephoned.  But  when  she  stopped 
to  think  she  realized  that  he  was  almost  certain 
to  be  busy  in  his  search  for  some  clue  to  the 
missing  girl. 

“Come  with  me.  Let’s  go  down  town,”  she 
said  to  Bessie.  “I  want  to  get  some  things  for 
you,  anyhow,  and  anything  is  better  than  sitting 


50 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


around  the  house  here,  just  waiting  for  news. 
That’s  terrible.  Don’t  you  think  so?” 

“Yes,  indeed.  But  suppose  some  news  came 
when  we  were  out?” 

“Oh,  we  can  easily  telephone  to  the  house  and 
then,  if  there  should  be  a message,  we  can  get 
it  right  away,  you  see.  I’ll  tell  them  here  to 
write  down  any  message  that  comes,  and  we  ’ll  tele- 
phone every  fifteen  minutes  or  so.” 

“Shall  we  see  Mr.  Jamieson  while  we’re  down 
town?” 

“Yes,  we  will.  That’s  a good  idea.  It  will 
save  his  time,  too,  and  there  may  be  something 
he  wants  us  to  do.” 

So  they  started.  Eleanor  wanted  to  walk. 
But  before  they  had  gone  very  far  a big  auto- 
mobile drew  up  along  the  sidewalk,  and  a cheery, 
pleasant  man,  middle  aged,  with  a smiling  face, 
and  white  hair,  though  he  seemed  too  young  for 
that,  hailed  them. 

“Hello,  Miss  Mercer!”  he  said.  “Jump  in, 
won’t  you?  I’ll  take  you  wherever  you  want  to 
go.  I’ve  got  lots  of  time— nothing  in  the  world  to 
do,  and  I’m  lonely.” 

“Why,  thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Holmes,” 
said  Eleanor,  smiling  at  him.  “This  is  my  new 
friend,  Bessie  King,  Mr.  Holmes.  Mr.  Holmes  is 
one  of  our  family’s  oldest  and  best  friends.” 

“Well,  well,  this  is  very  nice!”  he  said.  “I’d 
better  be  careful,  though,  or  I’ll  have  all  the 


ON  THE  FARM 


51 


young  fellows  in  town  down  on  me,  when  they 
see  an  old  codger  like  me  driving  two  pretty 
young  ladies  around.  Where  shall  we  go,  eh?” 

“If  you’re  really  not  in  a hurry,  Mr.  Holmes,” 
said  Eleanor,  “I  wish  you  would  take  us  down 
town  hy  the  long  way  around.  I’d  like  Bessie  to 
see  the  river  and  the  Kent  Bridge.” 

“Splendid!”  said  Mr.  Holmes.  “That’s  fine! 
You  see,  they  say  I’m  a back  number,  now  that 
I don’t  know  how  to  run  my  store  any  more.  I 
guess  they’re  right,  too.  I just  seem  to  be  in  the 
way  when  I go  down  there.  So  I stay  away 
as  long  as  I can  find  anything  else  to  do.” 

Eleanor  laughed,  but  Bessie  somehow  felt  that 
the  jovial  words  didn’t  ring  true.  There  was  a 
strange  look  in  the  eyes  of  their  kindly  host, 
and  despite  her  attempts  to  convince  herself  that 
she  was  foolish,  she  didn’t  like  him.  But  she  en- 
joyed the  ride  thoroughly.  He  took  them  out  of 
the  town,  and  then,  skirting  the  suburbs  by  a 
beautiful  road,  approached  the  heart  of  the  busi- 
ness section  by  a new  road  that  Bessie  had  not 
seen  before.  But  then,  though  he  had  said,  and, 
indeed,  proved,  that  he  was  in  no  hurry,  Mr. 
Holmes  began  to  increase  the  speed  of  his  car. 

“He’s  going  very  fast  if  he’s  not  in  a hurry,” 
suggested  Bessie,  sure  that  the  driver  could  not 
hear  in  the  rush  of  the  wind  made  by  the  car’s 
speed. 

Eleanor  laughed  merrily. 


52 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIELS 


“He  always  does  everything  in  a hurry,”  she 
said.  “This  is  the  fastest  car  in  town,  and  before 
automobiles  got  so  popular,  Mr.  Holmes  had  the 
fastest  horses.  He  just  likes  to  go  quickly.  That’s 
why  his  business  was  so  successful,  they  say.” 

Just  then  the  car  stopped,  and  Holmes,  laugh- 
ing, turned  to  them. 

“I  heard  that,”  he  said.  “After  all,  what’s 
the  harm?  It  would  have  taken  you  an  hour  to 
get  down  town  if  you’d  walked  all  the  way, 
wouldn’t  it,  Miss  Eleanor?” 

She  nodded. 

“All  right,  then,  I’ll  get  you  there  as  soon  as 
that,  and  have  time  for  a bit  of  a spin  in  the 
country,  as  well.  We’ll  go  pretty  fast,  so  just 
put  on  these  goggles,  young  ladies,  and  you’ll 
have  no  trouble  getting  specks  in  your  eyes.  I’ll 
do  the  same.  I really  intended  to  drive  slowly 
to-day— that’s  why  I haven’t  got  mine  on.  But 
somehow,  when  I get  a wheel  between  my  hands, 
I can’t  drive  slowly;  it  isn’t  in  me,  somehow!” 

He  handed  them  their  goggles,  and  then  put  on 
his  own,  and  changed  his  soft  hat,  which  had  two 
or  three  times  threatened  to  blow  off,  for  a cap 
that  would  stay  on  in  any  wind.  And,  as  he  faced 
them,  Bessie  had  all  she  could  do  to  suppress  a 
sharp  cry  of  amazement,  and  she  was  more  than 
thankful  for  the  goggles  that  partly  concealed  her 
start  of  surprise  and  dismay.  For  the  sight  of 
Holmes,  thus  equipped,  had  recalled  something 


ON  THE  FARM 


53 


that  seemed  in  a way,  at  least,  to  explain  her 
feeling  of  distrust  and  dislike. 

Eleanor  saw  that  Bessie  was  troubled,  even 
though  Holmes  was  ignorant  of  the  sensation  he 
had  caused,  and,  as  soon  as  the  car  was  moving 
at  high  speed  again,  she  leaned  over  close. 
“What  is  it,  Bessie?  What  startled  you  so?” 
“I’ll  tell  you  later,  Miss  Eleanor,”  whispered 
Bessie.  “I’m  not  sure  enough  yet— really  I’m 
not ! But  as  soon  as  I am,  I ’ll  tell  you  all  I know.  ’ ’ 
Mr.  Holmes  was  as  good  as  his  word.  He 
brought  them  into  the  central  part  of  the  town 
just  at  the  time  he  had  promised,  and  sprang  out 
to  open  the  door  of  the  tonneau  for  them. 

“Must  you  really  go  now?”  he  said,  dejectedly. 
4 ‘You ’ll  be  leaving  me  all  alone,  you  know.  Can’t 
you  finish  your  shopping,  and  then  let  me  run 
you  out  to  Arkville  for  luncheon?” 

“You  speak  as  if  it  were  just  across  the  street,” 
laughed  Eleanor.  “And  you  know,  Bessie,  it’s 
really  fifty  miles  or  more  away,  and  it’s  actually 
over  the  state  line.  It’s  in  your  old  state— the 
same  one  Hedgeville  is  in.  But  it’s  in  a different 
direction,  and  it’s  even  further  from  Hedgeville 
than  we  are  here,  I guess.  Isn ’t  it,  Mr.  Holmes  ? ’ ’ 
“I’d  have  to  know  just  where  Hedgeville  is  to 
answer  that,  Miss  Mercer.  And  I’ve  never  been 
there  nor  even  travelled  through  it,  so  far  as  T 
r-an  remember.  I’ll  look  it  up  on  my  road  map, 
though,  if  you  like—” 


54 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIELS 


“Oh,  no,  please  don’t  bother  to  do  that.  It’s 
not  of  the  slightest  importance.” 

‘ ‘ Then  we  shall  have  to  put  off  Arkville  to  an- 
other day,  yon  think,  Miss  Mercer?” 

“I’m  afraid  so,  really.  We’ve  a good  deal  to 
do  to-day,  and  there  are  reasons  that  I won’t 
bother  yon  with  for  onr  having  to  be  in  town. 
Thank  yon  ever  so  much  for  the  ride.” 

“Yes,  thank  you  ever  so  much,”  echoed  Bessie. 

They  were  near  Charlie  Jamieson’s  office,  and, 
as  the  car  turned  and  disappeared  in  the  mass  of 
traffic,  Bessie  clutched  Eleanor’s  arm. 

“Oh,  do  come  quickly,  Miss  Eleanor,  please! 
Look  at  this.  Don’t  you  think  we  ought  to  tell 
Mr.  Jamieson  about  it  right  away?” 

She  held  out  a piece  of  ribbon,  torn  and  stained. 
It  was  not  large,  but  there  was  enough  of  it  to 
identify  it  easily.  And,  as  Eleanor  looked  at  it, 
she  remembered  faintly  having  seen  it  before. 

“What  is  that?  Where  did  you  find  it?”  she 
asked,  puzzled. 

“It’s  the  ribbon  Zara  wore  in  her  hair,  and  I 
found  it  in  the  car.  It  fell  on  the  floor  when  he 
opened  the  door  for  us  to  get  out— it  must  have 
been  caught  there.  And  do  you  remember,  we 
got  in  on  the  other  side,  so  that  that  door  wasn’t 
opened  then?” 

Eleanor  looked  more  puzzled  than  ever. 

“I  don’t  see  how  that  can  be  Zara’s  ribbon,” 
she  protested.  “What  would  she  have  been  do- 


ON  THE  FARM 


55 


ing  in  Mr.  Holmes’s  car?  It’s  just  an  accident, 
Bessie.  It’s  just  a coincidence  that  that  ribbon 
should  be  there.  It  might  have  belonged  to  some- 
one else— I’m  sure  it  did,  in  fact.” 

“Oh,  please,  please,  I know!”  said  Bessie. 
“Won’t  you  let  me  tell  Mr.  Jamieson  about  it?” 

“Oh,  yes,  of  course,  but  he’ll  say  just  what 
I do,  Bessie.  You  mustn’t  let  this  affect  you  so 
that  you  get  nervous  and  hysterical,  Bessie. 
That’s  not  the  way  to  help  Zara.” 

They  were  walking  toward  the  building  in  which 
Jamieson’s  offices  were  located,  and  Bessie  was 
hurrying  their  progress  as  much  as  she  could. 

“I  don’t  like  Mr.  Holmes.  I’m  afraid  of  him,” 
she  said.  “I  know  that  sounds  dreadful,  but  it’s 
true—” 

“Why,  Bessie,  how  absurd!”  she  exclaimed. 
“I’ve  known  him  for  years  and  years,  and  he’s 
one  of  the  nicest,  kindest  men  in  town.” 

“But,  Miss  Eleanor,  do  you  remember  when 
you  asked  him  about  Hedgeville,  he  said  he’d 
never  been  there?” 

“Yes,  and  I thought,  as  soon  as  I asked  him, 
that  he  would  probably  have  to  tell  me  just  that. 
Hedgeville ’s  out  of  the  way.  You  never  saw 
automobile  parties  on  trips  going  through,  did 
you?” 

“No,  We  didn’t.  About  the  only  people  who 
came  there  in  automobiles  came  to  see  someone — 
and  usually  Farmer  Weeks.” 


56 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


‘ ‘ There,  you  see?” 

“But,  Miss  Eleanor,  Mr.  Holmes  knows  all 
about  Hedgeville!  He’s  been  there  ever  so  many 
times!  I thought  this  morning,  as  soon  as  he 
stopped  to  talk  to  you,  that  I’d  seen  him  before 
somewhere,  but  I wasn’t  sure.” 

“Why,  what  do  you  mean?  Are  you  sure 
now?” 

“Yes,  I was  sure  the  minute  he  put  on  those 
goggles  and  his  cap.  He’s  driven  to  Hedgeville 
a lot  in  the  last  year.  The  last  time  wasn’t  more 
than  three  weeks  ago,  and  he  was  in  that  same 
car,  and  wore  the  same  cap  and  goggles.” 

Eleanor  stopped,  looking  very  thoughtful. 

“I  think  you  must  be  mistaken,  Bessie,”  she 
said.  “There’s  no  reason  why  he  shouldn’t  tell 
us  if  he’d  ever  been  there,  and  he  certainly 
couldn’t  have  forgotten  it  if  he’s  been  there  as 
often  as  you  say.  Can’t  you  see  that?  What 
object  could  he  have  in  trying  to  deceive  us?” 

“I  don’t  know.  I can’t  guess  that  unless— 
well,  I can  tell  you  who  it  was  he  saw  when  he 
was  there— every  time.  It  was  Farmer  Weeks. 
And  I think  he  was  there  the  day  before  they  took 
Zara’s  father  away.  I’m  not  sure,  but  I think 
so.” 

“If  you  could  be  certain,”  said  Eleanor,  doubt- 
fully, “that  would  make  it  different,  Bessie. 
We’ll  tell  Mr.  Jamieson,  and  see  what  he  thinks. 
But  I’m  sure  you  must  be  mistaken.” 


CHAPTER  VI 


A SXJDDEIT  TURN 

Jamieson  was  in  His  office  when  they  entered. 

“Well,  I wondered  where  you  two  were!”  he 
exclaimed,  by  way  of  greeting.  “I  tried  to  get 
yon  on  the  telephone  a couple  of  times,  but  I sup- 
posed yon  were  probably  on  your  way  here.” 

“We  telephoned  before  we  left  the  house,  but 
we  understood  that  you  would  be  busy,”  said 
Eleanor.  “So  we  started  to  walk  into  town,  and 
Mr.  Holmes  saw  us,  and  took  us  for  a ride  in 
his  car.  I hope  it  hasn’t  made  any  difference — 
that  you  didn’t  want  us?  Have  you  found  out 
anything,  Charlie?” 

“]Slo,  it  didn’t  make  any  difference,”  said  the 
lawyer,  gloomily.  “As  for  finding  out  things, 
well,  I have,  and  I haven’t!  There’s  no  trace  of 
Zara,  but  there’s  other  news.” 

“What  is  it?” 

“Well,  it’s  mighty  queer,  I’ll  say  that  for  it. 
When  I went  to  see  Zara’s  father  this  morning, 
he  refused  to  see  me— sent  out  word  that  he  didn’t 
want  me  to  act  as  his  lawyer  any  more.  He’s  got 
another  lawyer,  and  who  do  yon  suppose  it  is?” 

57 


58 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


The  two  girls  stared  at  him,  surprised  and 
puzzled. 

“Brack!”  exclaimed  Jamieson.  “What  do  you 
know  about  that  for  a mess,  eh?  If  half  of  what 
I believe  is  right,  Brack ’s  his  worst  enemy.  He ’s 
hand  in  glove  with  the  people  who  are  responsible 
for  all  his  trouble,  and  yet  here  he  goes  and  gets 
the  scoundrel  to  act  as  his  lawyer!” 

‘ ‘ Oh,  what  a shame ! ’ ’ said  Eleanor,  indignantly. 
“And  he  wouldn’t  even  see  you  to  explain?” 

“Absolutely  not!  I tried  to  get  them  to  let  me 
in,  and  I sent  him  an  urgent  message,  telling  him 
it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  for  us.  to  have  a 
talk,  but  I couldn’t  budge  him.” 

Eleanor  was  flushed  with  resentment. 

“Well,  that  settles  it!”  she  said,  indignantly. 
“If  people  don’t  want  to  be  helped,  one  can’t 
help  them.  He  and  Zara  will  just  have  to  look 
out  for  themselves,  I guess.  Bessie,  don’t  you 
think  Zara  must  have  gone  with  those  people  in 
the  car  willingly?” 

“Yes,  I do,”  said  Bessie.  “But—” 

“Then  I think  she  and  her  father  are  an  un- 
grateful pair,  and  they  deserve  anything  that 
happens  to  them!  I’m  certainly  not  going  to 
worry  myself  about  them  any  more,  and  I should 
think  you  would  drop  the  whole  thing,  Charlie 
Jamieson,  and  attend  to  your  own  affairs!” 

“Hold  on!  You’re  going  a bit  too  fast, 


ON  THE  FARM 


59 


Eleanor/’  he  said,  laughing  lightly.  “Let’s  see 
what  Bessie  thinks  about  it.” 

Bessie,  who  had  flushed  too,  but  not  with  anger, 
when  Eleanor  thus  gave  her  resentment  full  play, 
was  glad  of  the  chance  to  speak. 

“I  do  think  Zara  went  off  willingly  and  of  her 
own  accord,”  she  said.  “I’m  sure  of  that,  be- 
cause she  couldn’t  have  been  taken  away  without 
my  hearing  something.  ’ ’ 

“Well,  then,”  began  Eleanor,  “doesn’t  that 
prove—” 

“But  if  Zara  was  willing  to  go  off  that  way,  I 
believe  it’s  because  she  thought  she  was  doing 
the  right  thing,”  Bessie  went  on,  determinedly. 
‘ ‘ Someone  must  have  seen  her  and  told  her  some- 
thing that  she  believed,  though  perhaps  it  wasn’t 
true.  ’ ’ 

4 ‘ Of  course !”  said  J amieson,  heartily.  4 4 That ’s 
what  I’ve  thought  from  the  start,  and  don’t  you 
see  who  it  probably  was  ? Why,  Brack ! He  was 
in  the  neighborhood  yesterday  morning  and  he 
must  have  seen  her.  He  might  have  told  her  any- 
thing—any  wild  story.  You  see,  we  are  pretty 
much  in  the  dark  about  this  affair  yet.  We  don’t 
know  why  these  people  are  so  keen  after  Zara’s 
father,  or  why  they’ve  put  up  this  job  on  him. 
So  I don’t  think  I’ll  get  mad  and  drop  it  just 
because  Zara  and.  her  father  have  probably  been 
fooled  into  acting  in  a way  that  would  seem  likely 
to  irritate  me.” 


. 


€0  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 

Eleanor  was  regretful  at  once. 

“Oil,  you’re  ever  so  much  more  sensible  than 
I am,  Charlie,”  she  said.  “It  made  me  angry  to 
think  they  were  acting  so  when  all  we  wanted  was 
to  help  them,  and  I lost  my  temper.  ’ ’ 

“I  suspect  that  that  is  just  what  Brack  hoped 
I would  do,  Eleanor.  And  it  makes  me  all  the 
more  determined  to  stick  to  the  case.  You  see,  I’m 
actually  lawyer  for  Zara’s  father  still,  and  unless 
I consent  to  a change  of  lawyers,  he’ll  have 
trouble  putting  Brack  in  my  place.  Brack  knows 
that,  too,  if  he  doesn’t— and  he  knows,  also,  that 
I know  one  or  two  things  about  him  that  make  it  a 
good  idea  for  him  to  be  careful,  unless  he  wants 
to  be  disbarred.” 

“Then  you’ll  keep  on  working  and  you’ll  try 
to  find  out  what’s  become  of  Zara,  too?” 

“Yes.  I looked  up  the  number  that  Bessie  saw 
— the  number  of  that  car.  And  it’s  just  as  X 
thought.  They  were  careful  enough  to  use  a false 
number.  There’s  no  such  number  recorded  as  the 
one  that  was  on  the  car.” 

“But  don’t  you  suppose  you  can  find  anyone 
who  saw  it  before  they  had  a chance  to  change  the 
numbers?” 

“I’m  working  on  that  line  now,  but  we  haven’t 
got  any  reports  yet.  I’ve  gone  to  see  the  district 
attorney— the  one  who  looks  after  the  counter- 
feiting cases  as  well  as  the  other,  who’s  just  in 
charge  of  local  affairs.  And  I’ve  convinced  them 


ON  THE  FARM 


61 


that  there’s  something  very  queer  afoot  here. 
Judge  Bailey,  who  will  prosecute  Zara’s  father 
for  counterfeiting,  agrees  with  me  that  it  looks  as 
if  a case  had  been  worked  up  against  him  by  some- 
one who  wants  to  make  trouble  for  him,  and  he’s 
pretty  mad  at  the  idea  that  anyone  would  dare  to 
use  him  in  such  a crooked  game.  So  we’ll  have  a 
friend  there,  if  I can  get  any  evidence  to  back 
our  suspicions.  ’ ’ 

Suddenly  Eleanor  remembered  what  Bessie  had 
thought  of  Mr.  Holmes,  her  suspicion  that  she  had 
■seen  him  in  Hedge ville,  and  the  incident  of  finding 
Zara’s  ribbon.  And  she  made  Bessie  tell  the  law- 
yer her  story. 

He  laughed  when  he  heard  it,  much  to  Bessie’s 
distress. 

“I  don’t  think  very  much  of  that  idea,”  he  said. 
“Mr.  Holmes  is  one  of  our  wealthiest  and  most 
respected  citizens.  He’d  never  let  himself  or  his 
car  be  mixed  up  in  such  a business.  And  I ’m  sure 
he  doesn’t  know  Brack,  and  has  never  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  him.  ’ ’ 

“But  it  is  Zara’s  ribbon!  I’m  positive  of  that,” 
insisted  Bessie.  “And  he’s  the  same  man  I saw 
at  Farmer  Weeks ’s  place  in  Hedgeville,  too.” 

“No,  no;  I’m  afraid  you’re  mistaken,  Bessie.” 

“But  the  ribbon— why  should  that  be  in  his 
car?” 

“Let  me  see  it.” 


€2  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 

She  handed  him  the  ribbon,  and  he  looked  at  it 
carefully. 

“Why,  that  doesn’t  seem  to  be  very  promising 
evidence,  Bessie,”  he  said.  “I  suppose  you  could 
find  ribbon  like  that  in  any  dry  goods  store  al- 
most anywhere.  Thousands  of  girls  must  have 
pieces  just  like  it.  Even  if  it  is  just  the  same  as 
the  one  Zara  wore,  that  doesn’t  prove  anything. 
You’d  have  to  have  more  evidence  than  that. 
However,  I’ll  keep  it  in  mind.  You  never  can  tell 
what’s  going  to  turn  up,  and  I suppose  it’s  easily 
possible  to  imagine  stranger  things  than  Mr. 
Holmes  being  mixed  up  in  this  affair.  Well,  you 
can  depend  upon  it  that  everything  possible  is 
being  done,  and  no  one  could  do  more  than  that. 
X wish  I knew  more,  that’s  all.” 

So  did  Bessie,  and  she  was  thinking  hard  as  they 
left  his  office  and  made  their  way  toward  some  of 
the  shops  in  which,  the  day  before,  she  had  so 
longed  to  be.  Feminine  instinct  has  more  than 
once  proved  itself  superior  to  masculine  logic, 
and  although  both  Jamieson  and  Eleanor  seemed 
inclined  to  laugh  at  her,  Bessie  felt  that  she  was 
right— that  Mr.  Holmes,  in  some  queer  way,  was 
intimately  concerned  in  the  web  in  which  she  and 
Zarat  seemed  to  be  caught. 

She  couldn’t  pretend  to  explain,  even  to  her- 
self, the  manner  in  which  he  might  be  affected, 
but  of  the  main  fact  she  was  sure.  She  knew  that 
her  memory  had  not  deceived  her;  she  had  seen 


ON  THE  FARM 


63 


the  man  in  Hedgeville.  And  the  fact  that  he  had 
deliberately  lied  about  that  seemed  to  her  good 
evidence  that  he  had  something  to  conceal. 

He  knew  Farmer  Weeks.  And  in  some  fashion 
Farmer  Weeks  was  intimately  bound  up  with  the 
affairs  of  Zara  and  her  father.  Everything  that 
had  happened  since  their  flight  from  Hedgeville 
proved  that  beyond  the  shadow  of  a doubt.  He 
had  run  great  risks  to  get  Zara  back ; although  he 
was  such  a notorious  miser,  he  .had  spent  a good 
deal  of  money.  And  he  was  mixed  up  with  Brack. 

Suddenly  a thought  came  to  Bessie.  Zara’s 
father!  He  must  know.  And  if  he  did,  wasn’t 
there  a chance  that  he  might  be  willing  to  talk  to 
her,  if  she  could  only  manage  to  see  him!  He 
distrusted  Charlie  Jamieson  evidently,  since  he 
had  refused  to  talk  to  him  just  when  the  lawyer 
had  been  sure  that  he  was  going  to  get  some  facts 
that  would  throw  light  on  the  mystery.  But  with 
Bessie  he  might  well  take  a different  stand.  He 
had  seen  her  in  the  country;  he  knew  that  she 
was  a friend  of  Zara. 

“Miss  Eleanor,”  said  Bessie,  quickly,  '“I’ve 
got  an  idea  and  I wish  you  would  let  me  talk  to 
Mr.  Jamieson  about  it.  Will  you,  please— and  by 
myself?  You’re  angry  still  at  Zara  and  her 
father,  and  perhaps  you’d  think  I was  all  wrong.” 

“I’m  not  exactly  angry,  Bessie,”  said  Eleanor. 
“I  was  hurt,  but  I’m  beginning  to  see  that  very 
likely  I am  wrong,  and  that  they  were  honestly 


64 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


mistaken,  not  deliberately  ungrateful.  At  any 
rate,  if  Charlie  Jamieson  can  stand  fee  way  Zara’s 
father  treats  him,  I guess  I don’t  need  to  worry 
about  it.” 

“Then  may  I go?” 

“Yes,  and  hurry,  or  you’ll  find  that  he’s  left 
his  office.  You  won’t  be  long,  will  you?” 

“No,  indeed;  only  a few  minutes.  Will  you  be 
here  in  this  store,  Miss  Eleanor,  when  I come 
back?” 

“Yes,  I’ll  meet  you  at  the  ribbon  counter.” 

“Thank  you,  thank  you  ever  so  much,  Miss 
Eleanor!  I’ll  hurry  just  as  much  as  I can,  and 
I certainly  won’t  be  long.” 

Then  she  was  off,  and  luckily  enough  she  found 
that  the  lawyer  had  not  yet  gone.  He  listened  to 
her  suggestion  with  a smile. 

“By  George,”  he  said,  when  she  had  finished, 
“maybe  you’ve  hit  the  right  idea,  Bessie,  at  that! 
I’m  afraid  I can’t  manage  it  to-day,  but  I’ll  take 
you  to  the  jail  myself  in  the  morning,  and  see  that 
you  get  a chance  to  talk  to  him.  I doubt  if  lie’ll 
say  anything,  he ’s  either  obstinate  or  badly  fright- 
ened. But  it’s  worth  the  chance,  if  you  don’t 
mind  going  to  the  jail  to  see  him.  It’s  not  a very 
nice  place,  you  know.” 

Bessie  laughed. 

“I’d  do  worse  than  that  if  I thought  I could 
help  Zara,  Mr.  Jamieson,”  she  said.  “Bo  you 
know  I’ve  got  the  strangest  feeling  that  she’s  in 


ON  THE  FARM 


65 


trouble?  It’s  just  as  if  I could  bear  her  calling 
me  and  as  if  sbe  were  sorry  for  leaving  us,  and 
wanted  to  be  back,” 

Jamieson  smiled  grimly. 

“I  think  the  chances  are  that  she’s  feeling  just 
about  that  way,”  he  said.  “She  certainly  ought 
to  be— if  we’re  at  all  near  to  guessing  the  people 
she’s  gone  with.  They  won’t  treat  her  as  well 
as  the  Mercers,  I’ll  be  bound.” 

“That’s  what  I’m  afraid  of,  too,”  said  Bessie. 

Then  thanking  him  for  his  promise  she  made 
her  way  to  the  street,  and  started  to  go  back  to 
the  store  where  she  had  left  Eleanor.  But  she 
was  intercepted.  And,  to  her  amazement,  the  per- 
son who  checked  her,  as  she  was  walking  swiftly 
along  the  crowded  street,  was  Jake  Hoover. 

“ ’Lo,  Bessie,”  he  said  shamefacedly,  as  she 
started  with  surprise  at  the  sight  of  him.  “Say, 
you’re  pretty  in  them  new  clothes  of  your’n.  I’d 
never  ’a’  known  you.” 

“I  wish  you  hadn’t,  then,”  said  Bessie,  with 
spirit.  “I’m  through  with  you,  Jake  Hoover! 
You  won’t  have  me  around  home  any  more,  to 
take  the  blame  for  ail  your  wickedness.  When 
things  happen  now  they’ll  know  whose  fault  it  is 
—and  maybe  they’ll  begin  to  think  that  you  may 
have  done  some  of  the  things  I used  to  get  pun- 
ished for,  too.” 

“Aw,  now,  don’t  get  mad,  Bessie,”  he  said, 
trying  to  pacify  her.  “This  here’s  the  city — 


6G 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


’t ’ain’t  Hedgeville  ! Maybe  I was  mean  to  yon 
sometimes  back  borne,  Bessie,  but  I was  jest 
jokin’.  Say,  Bess,  here’s  a gentleman  wants  to 
talk  to  you.  He’s  a lawyer  an’  a mighty  smart 
man.  An’  he  thinks  he  knows  somethin’  about 
your  father  and  mother.” 

Another  figure  had  loomed  up  beside  that  of 
•J ake,  and  Bessie  was  hardly  surprised  to  find  that 
it  was  Brack  who  was  leering  at  her. 

“He’s  right.  I know  something  about  them,” 
he  said.  “There’s  precious  little  old  Brack  don’t 
know,  my  dear— an’  that’s  a fact  you  can  bet 
your  last  dollar  on.” 

He  chuckled,  and  made  a movement  as  if  he  in- 
tended to  take  Bessie’s  hand,  but  she  brushed  his 
claw-like  hand  away  with  a motion  of  disgust. 

“1  haven’t  got  time  to  be  talking  to  you  now,” 
she  said,  decisively.  “If  yon  know  anything  you 
thin!?:  I ought  to  be  told,  tell  it  to  Mr.  Jamieson.” 

“Oh,  ho,  tell  it  to  him,  eh?”  he  said.  “Maybe 
you’d  better  be  careful,  girl!  Maybe  you  wouldn’t 
like  everyone  to  know  why  your  parents  had  to 
run  away  and  leave  you  in  such  a hurry.  Maybe 
they’re  in  prison,  and  deserve  to  be.  How’d  you 
like  to  have  people  hear  that,  eh?” 

“I  wouldn’t  like  it,  but  I don’t  believe  it’s 
true!”  said  Bessie,  scornfully.  “Not  for  a 
minute!”  And  she  pressed  on,  but  Brack  fol- 
lowed and  walked  close  beside  her. 

“Remember  this — you’ll  never  see  them  again, 
except  through  me,  ’ ’ he  said,  malevolently. 


CHAPTER  VII 


OFF  TO  THE  FARM 

The  next  morning  Bessie  was  doomed  to  be  dis- 
appointed. She  had  looked  forward  confidently’ to 
seeing  Zara’s  father,  and  had  come  to  believe  that 
there  was  a good  chance  for  her  to  clear  away 
some  of  the  mystery  that  hung  so  heavily  over 
Zara’s  affairs,  even  though  she  made  no  great 
progress  toward  straightening  out  her  own  con- 
fused ideas  regarding  herself  and  the  reason  for 
the  disappearance  of  her  parents.  But,  instead 
of  the  telephone  call  to  Jamieson’s  office,  for 
which  she  had  waited  with  poorly  concealed  im- 
patience from  breakfast  until  nearly  noon,  she 
had  a visit  from  Jamieson  himself.  The  lawyer 
looked  discouraged. 

“Bad  news,  Bessie,”  he  said,  as  soon  as  he  saw 
her.  She  was  waiting  for  him  on  the  porch,  and 
her  eyes  lighted  with  eagerness  as  soon  as  she  saw 
him  coming.  “They’ve  stolen  a march  on  me.” 

“"Why,  how  do  you  mean?  Won’t  I be  able  to 
see  Zara’s  father,  after  all?” 

“Not  just  yet.  Brack  is  cleverer  than  I thought. 
He’s  got  a lot  of  political  pull,  and  he  got  hold  of 

67 


68  THE  CAMP  EIRE  GIRLS 

a judge  I thought  was  above  stooping  to  anything 
wrong.  So  he  was  able  to  get  this  judge  to  sign 
an  order  putting  him  in  my  place  as  lawyer  for 
Zara’s  father.  The  only  way  you  can  see  the 
prisoner  now  is  for  Brack  to  give  you  permission, 
and  if  I know  Brack,  that’s  the  last  thing  he’ll 
do.” 

Bessie  showed  her  discouragement. 

“I’m  afraid  you’re  right  there,”  she  said.  “I 
saw  him  yesterday,  after  I left  you.” 

“You  did?  Whew!  There’s  something  queer 
here,  Bessie.  Now,  try  to  remember  just  what 
was  said  and  tell  me  all  about  it.” 

It  was  not  hard  for  Bessie,  guided  by  a few 
questions  from  Jamieson,  to  do  that,  and  in  a few 
moments  she  had  supplied  him  with  a complete 
review  of  her  interview  with  the  shyster,  Brack. 
He  nodded  approvingly  when  she  had  finished. 

“You  did  just  right,”  he  said,  cheerfully.  “I 
guess  Mr.  Brack  won’t  get  much  change  out  of 
you,  Bessie.  There’s  one  thing  sure,  you  managed 
to  acquire  a lot  of  sense  while  you  lived  in  Hedge- 
ville.  The  sort  we  call  common  sense,  though  I 
don’t  know  why,  because  it’s  the  rarest  sort  of 
sense  there  is.  Keep  on  acting  just  like  that  when 
people  ask  you  questions  and  try  to  get  you  to 
tell  them  things.” 

“Do  you  think  anyone  else  is  likely  to  do  that, 
Mr.  Jamieson?” 

“You  can’t  tell.  I’m  all  in  the  dark,  you  see. 


ON  THE  FARM 


69 


r - 


This  thing  acts  just  like  a Chinese  puzzle.  They’re 
simple  enough  when  you  know  how  to  fit  the 
pieces  together,  and  you  wonder  why  they  ever 
stumped  you.  But  until  you  do  guess  them—” 
He  stopped,  with  a comical  shrug  of  his  shoulders 
to  indicate  his  helplessness  and  his  bewilderment, 
and  Bessie  laughed. 

Then  Eleanor  came  out,  and  the  story  of 
Brack’s  shrewdness  had  to  be  told  to  her. 

“What  are  you  going  to  do  now?”  she  asked. 

Jamieson  threw  up  his  hands  with  a laugh. 

“Wait— and  keep  my  eyes  open,”  he  said. 
“I’m  going  to  act  as  if  I’d  lost  all  interest  in  the 
ease.  That  may  fool  Brack.  Our  best  chance 
now,  you  see,  is  to  wait  for  the  other  side  to  make 
a mistake.  They’ve  made  some  already;  the 
chances  are  they ’ll  do  it  again.  Then  we  can 
nab  them.  What  I want  to  do  is  to  make  them 
think  they’re  quite  safe,  that  they  needn’t  be 
afraid  of  us  any  more.” 

“You  won’t  need  Bessie,  then,' right  away?” 

“No.  Really,  she  worries  me.  I feel  as  if  she 
weren’t  safe  here.  They  seem  to  be  afraid  of  her, 
and  I wouldn’t  put  it  past  them  to  try  to  get 
hold  of  her  and  keep  her  where  she  can’t  do 
any  talking  until  they’ve  done  what  they  want 
to  do.” 

“But,  Charlie,  they  must  know  that  sheJs  told 
us  everything  she  knows  already.  Why  should 
they  want  to  take  her  away  now?” 


70  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 

“If  I knew  tliat  I could  answer  a lot  of  otter 
questions,  too.  But  here’s  a guess.  Suppose  she 
knows  something  without  knowing  at  all  what  it 
means,  or  how  important  it  is  ? That  might  easily 
he.  She  might  he  able  to  clear  up  the  whole  mys- 
tery with  some  single,  seemingly  unimportant  re- 
mark. They  may  have  good  reason  to  know  she 
hasn’t  done  it  yet,  but  they  may  also  he  afraid 
that,  at  any  time,  she  will  entirely  by  accident 
give  away  their  whole  game.  And  I’ve  got  an 
idea  that  if  their  game  ever  is  exposed,  someone 
will  he  in  danger  of  going  to  jail.  See?  I’d  like 
to  figure  out  some  good  safe  place  for  Bessie, 
where  she’d  he  out  of  the  way  of  all  their  tricks.” 

Eleanor  clapped  her  hands. 

“Then  I’ve  got  the  very  place!”  she  said. 
“This  business  has  upset  the  plans  I’d  made,  but 
now  I’m  going  to  take  my  Camp  Fire  Girls  down 
to  dad’s  farm  in  Cheney  County.  You  laughed  at 
me  when  I was  made  a Camp  Fire  Guardian, 
Charlie,  hut  you’re  going  to  see  now  what  a fine 
thing  thb  movement  is.” 

“I  didn’t  mean  to  laugh  at  you,  Eleanor,”  he 
said,  contritely.  “And  I got  over  doing  it  long 
ago,  anyhow.  I used  to  think  this  Camp  Fire 
thing  was  a joke— just  something  got  up  to  please 
a lot  of  girls  who  wanted  to  wear  khaki  skirts 
and  camp  out  because  their  brothers  had  joined 
the  Boy  Scouts  and  told  them  what  a good  time 
they  were  having.” 


ON  THE  FARM 


11 


“That’s  jflst  like  a man,”  said  Eleanor,  quietly 
triumphant.  “None  of  you  think  girls  can  do 
anything  worth  while  on  their  own  account.  The 
Camp  Fire  Girls  didn’t  imitate  the  Boy  Scouts, 
and  they’re  not  a hit  like  them,  really.  We 
haven’t  anything  against  the  Boy  Scouts,  but  we 
think  we’re  going  to  do  better  work  among  girls 
than  even  the  Scout  movement  does  among  boys. 
Well,  anyhow,  we’re  going  down  to  the  farm,  and 
Bessie  shall  go  along.  If  anyone  tries  to  kidnap 
her  while  she’s  with  the  girls,  they’ll  have  a hard 
time.  We  stick  together,  let  me  tell  you,  and 
Wohelo  means  something.” 

“You  needn’t  preach  to  me,  Eleanor,”  said  the 
lawyer,  laughing.  “You  converted  me  long  ago. 
I’ll  stand  for  anything  you  do,  anyhow.  You’re 
all  right— you’ve  got  more  sense  than  most  men. 
It’s  a pity  there  aren’t  more  girls  like  you.” 

“That’s  rank  flattery,  and  it  isn’t  true,  any- 
how,” laughed  Eleanor.  “But  if  I am  any  bet- 
ter than  I used  to  be,  it’s  because  I’ve  learned 
not  to  think  of  myself  first  all  the  time.  That’s 
what  the  Camp  Fire  teaches  us,  you  see.  Work, 
and  Health,  and  Love,  that’s  what  Wohelo  means. 
And  it  means  to  work  for  others,  and  to  love 
others,  and  to  bring  health  to  others  as  well  as 
to  yourself.  Come  down  to  the  farm  while  we’re, 
there,  and  you’ll  see  how  it  works  out.” 

Jamieson  got  up. 

“I  probably  will,”  he  said,  smiling  as  he  held 


72 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


out  Ms  hand  in  farewell.  “‘I’ll  have  to  come  down 
to  consult  my  client,  you  see.” 

“And  you’ll  let  us  know  if  there’s  any  news 
•of  Zara,  Mr.  Jamieson,  won’t  you?”  said  Bessie. 
“I  love  the  idea  of  going  to  the  farm,  hut  I rather 
hate  to  leave  the  city  when  I don’t  know  what 
may  he  happening  to  Zara.” 

“You  can’t  help  her  hy  staying  here,”  said  the 
lawyer,  earnestly.  “I’m  quite  sure  of  that.  And 
I really  think  she’s  all  right,  and  that  she’s  being 
properly  treated.  After  all,  it’s  pretty  hard  to 
carry  a girl  like  Zara  off  and  keep  her  a prisoner 
against  her  will.  It  would  be  much  better  policy 
to  treat  her  well,  and  keep  her  contented.  It’s 
quite  plain  that  she  thought  she  was  going  with 
friends  when  she  went,  or  she  would  have  made 
some  sort  of  a row.  And  their  best  policy  is  to 
keep  her  quiet.” 

“But  they  didn’t  act  that  way  before  we  got 
away  from  Hedgeville— clear  away,  I mean,”  said 
Bessie.  “Farmer  Weeks  caught  her  in  the  road, 
you  know,  and  locked  her  in  that  room  the  time 
that  I followed  her  and  helped  her  to  get  away 
through  the  woods.” 

“Yes,  but  that  was  a very  different  matter, 
Bessie.  In  that  state  Weeks  had  the  law  on  his 
side.  The  court  was  ready  to  name  him  as  her 
guardian,  and  to  bind  her  over  to  him  until  she 
was  twenty-one.  In  this  state  neither  he  nor  any- 
one else,  except  her  father,  has  any  more  right 


OIST  THE  FAEM 


73 


to  keep  her  from  going  where  she  likes  than  they 
have  to  tell  me  what  I must  do — ds  long  as  we 
obey  the  law  and  don’t  do  anything  that  is 
wrong.  ’ ’ 

“Then  yon  think  ahe’s  well  and  happy?” 

“I’m  quite  sure  of  it,”  said  Jamieson,  heartily, 
“This  isn’t  some  foreign  country.  It’s  America, 
where  there  are  plenty  of  people  to  notice  any- 
thing that  seems  wrong  or  out  of  the  ordinary. 
And  if  they  were  treating  Zara  badly,  she’d  be 
pretty  sure  to  find  someone  who  would  help  her  to 
get  away. 5 ’ • 

“Yes,  this  is  America,”  said  Bessie,  thought- 
fully. “But  you  see,  Zara  has  lived  in  countries 
where  things  are  very  different.  And  maybe  she* 
doesn’t  know  her  rights.  After  all,  you  know,  she; 
thinks  her  father  hasn’t  done  anything  wrong,, 
and  still  she’s  seen  him  put  in  prison  and  kept 
there.  What  I’m  afraid  of  is  that  she’ll  get  to 
think  that  this  is  Just  like  the  countries  she  knows 
best,  and  be  afraid  to  do  anything,  or  try  to  get 
help,  no  matter  what  they  do.” 

“Well,  we  mustn’t  borrow  trouble,”  said  Jamie- 
son, frowning  slightly  at  the  thoughts  Bessie’s; 
words  suggested  to  him.  “We  can’t  do  anything 
more  now,  that’s  sure.  Have  a good  time,  and 
stop  worrying.  That’s  the  best  legal  advice  I 
can  give  you  right  now.” 

Once  her  mind  was  made  up,  Eleanor  acted 
quickly.  The  outing  at  her  father’s  farm,  which 


74 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


was  not  at  all  like  tlie  Hoover  farm  in  Hedgeville 
of  which  Bessie  King  had  such  unpleasant  mem- 
ories, was  one  that  had  long  been  promised  to  her 
girls,  and  she  herself  had  been  looking  forward 
to  going  there.  The  troubles  of  Bessie  and  Zara 
had  almost  led  her  to  abandon  the  idea  of  going 
there  herself,  and  she  had  arranged  for  a friend 
to  take  her  place  as  Guardian  for  a time.  Now, 
however,  she  sent  word  to  all  her  girls,  and  that 
very  evening  they  met  at  the  station  and  took  the 
train  for  Deer  Crossing,  the  little  station  that 
was  nearest  to  the  farm. 

“They’ll  meet  .us  in  the  farm  wagons,”  said 
Eleanor,  when  the  girls  were  all  aboard.  “So 
we’ll  have  a ride  through  the  moonlight  to  the 
farm— the  moon  rises  early  to-night,  you  know.” 

It  was  a jolly,  happy  ride  in  the  train,  and 
Bessie,  renewing  her  acquaintance  with  the  Camp 
Fire  Girls,  who  had  seemed  to  her  and  Zara,  when 
.they  had  first  seen  them,  like  creatures  from  an- 
other world,  felt  her  depression  wearing  off.  They 
had  a car  to  themselves,  thanks  to  the  conductor, 
who  had  known  Eleanor  Mercer  since  she  was  a 
little . girl,  and  as  the  train  sped  through  the 
country  scenes  that  were  so  familiar  to  Bessie, 
the  girls  laughed  and  talked  and  sang  songs  of  the 
Camp  Fire,  and  made  happy  plans  for  walks  and 
tramps  in  the  country  about  the  farm. 

“It’s  just  like  the  Country  around  Hedgeville, 
Miss  Eleanor,”  said  Bessie,  as  the  Guardian 


ON  THE  FARM 


75 


stopped  beside  the  seat  she  shared  with  her  first 
chum  among  the  Camp  Fire  Girls,  Minnehaha* 
'“The  houses  look  the  same,  and  the  stone  fences, 
and— oh,  everything!” 

“I  wonder  if  you  aren’t  a little  bit  homesick, 
down  in  your  heart,  Bessie?”  laughed  Miss  Mer- 
cer. “Come,  now,  confess!” 

“Perhaps  I am,”  said  Bessie,  wonderingly.  “I 
never  thought  of  that.  But  it’s  just  for  the 
country,  and  the  cows  and  the  animals,  and  all 
the  things  I’m  used  to  seeing.  I wouldn’t  go  back 
to  Maw  Hoover’s  for  anything.” 

“You  shan’t,  Bessie.  I was  only  joking,”^ 
Eleanor,  quickly.  “I  know  just  how  yoj 
I’ve  been  that  way  myself.  When  you 
from  a place  you  begin  very  quickly  t] 
everything  that  was  disagreeable  that 
there,  and  you  only  remember  the  goJ 
you  had.  That ’s  why  you  ’re  homesick.  ’ ’ r 

“Wre’ll  be  able  to  take  walks  and  go 
rides  here,  won’t  we,  Wanaka?”  asked 
ha.  She  used  Eleanor’s  fire  name,  Wa| 
as  Minnehaha  was  her  fire  name;  her 
Margery  Burton. 

“You’ll  have  to,  if  you  expect  to  be  inJ 
laughed  the  Guardian.  “And  you  shaf 
milk  cows  and  find  eggs  and  do  all  sorl 
work,  too.  I expect  Bessie  will  wanl 
often  at  you  girls.  You  see,  she  know! 


76 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIELS 


that  sort  of  thing,  and  you’ll  all  he  terrible  green- 
horns, I think.”. 

“I  ought  to  know  about  a farm,”  said  Bessie. 
“I  lived  on  one  long  enough.  And  I don’t  see 
why  I should  laugh  at  the  rest  of  the  girls.  They 
know  more  about  the  city  now  than  I ever  will 
know.  I’ve  been  there  long  enough  to  find  that 
out,  anyhow.” 

Just  then  the  conductor  put  his  head  inside  the 
door,  and  called  ‘ ‘ Deer  Crossing ! ’ ’ 

As  the  train  slowed  up,  all  the  girls  made  a rush 
their  bags  and  bundles,  and  five  minutes  later 
were  standing  and  watching  the  disappearing 
aving  to  the  amused  conductor  and  train- 
10  were  all  on  the  platform  of  the  last 
in  the  train  disappeared  around  a curve, 
had  a chance  to  devote  their  attention  to 
ig  farm  wagons  that  were  waiting  near 
n,  each  with  its  team  of  big  Percherons 
miling  driver.  The  drivers  were  country 
h fair,  tousled  hair,  and  both  wore  neat 
At  the  sight  of  them  Eleanor  burst 

dgh. 

Sid  Harris— and  you,  too,  Walter 
she  cried.  “This  isn’t  Sunday!  What 
ing  in  your  store  clothes,  just  as  if  you 
>ur  way  to  church  ? ’ ’ 
boys  flushed  and  neither  of 'them  had 
say. 


ON  THE  FARM 


77. 


“Did  yon  get  mixed  up  on  the  days  of  the 
■week?”  Eleanor  went  on,  pitilessly. 

All  the  girls  were  enjoying  their  confusion, 
and  black-eyed  Dolly  Ransom,  the  tease  of  the 
party,  laughed  aloud. 

“X  bet  they  never  saw  so  many  girls  together 
before,  Miss  Eleanor,”  she  said,  with  a toss  of 
her  pretty  head.  “That’s  why  they’re  so  quiet! 
They  probably  don’t  have  girls  in  the  country.” 

“Don’t  they,  just!”  said  Eleanor,  laughing 
back  at  her.  “Wait  until  you  see  them,  Dolly. 
They’ll  put  your  nose  out  of  joint,  the  girls 
around  here.  If  you  think  you’re  going  to  have 
it  all  your  own  way  with  the  boys  out  here,  the 
way  you  do  so  much  at  home,  you’re  mistaken.” 

Dolly  tossed  her  head  again.  She  looked  at  the 
confused,  blushing  boys  on  the  wagons,  who  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  understand  that  Dolly  was 
only  teasing  them,  and  wanted  nothing  better 
than  a perfectly  harmless  flirtation. 

“They’re  welcome  to  any  boys  like  those,”  she 
said,  airily.  “I’ll  wait  until  I get  home,  Miss 
Eleanor.  ’ ’ 

Then  she  turned  away,  and  Eleanor,  her  face 
serious  for  a moment,  turned  to  Bessie. 

“She’ll  wait  until  she’s  grown  up,  too,  if  I’ve 
got  anything  to  say  about  it,”  she  said.  “Bessie, 
when  Zara  comes  back,  of  course  you’ll  be  with 
her  mostly.  But  I wish  you’d  make  a friend  of 


78 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIRLS 


Dolly  Ransom,— a real  friend.  Her  mother’s 
dead,  and  she  has  no  sisters.” 

“I  hope  I can,”  said  Bessie,  simply.  “I  like 
her  ever  so  much.” 


CHAPTER  VIII 


A NEW  CHUM 

The  farm  was  nearly,  five  miles  from  the  sta- 
tion, and  the  two  big  wagons  made  slow  time, 
with  the  heavy  loads,  especially  as  the  roads  were 
still  muddy  from  a recent  downpour.  But  none  of 
the  Camp  Fire  Grirls  seemed  to  mind  the  length 
of  the  trip. 

Now  that  she  was  actually  out  in  the  heart  of 
it,  Bessie  found  that  the  country  was  not  as  much 
like  that  around  Hedgeville  as  it  had  seemed  to  bo 
from  the  train  windows.  The  fields  were  better 
kept ; there  were  no  unpainted,  dilapidated  looking 
houses,  such  as  those  of  Farmer  Weeks  and  some 
of  the  other  neighbors  of  the  Hoovers  in  Hedge- 
ville whom  she  remembered  so  well. 

Neat  fences,  well  kept  up,  marked  off  the  fields, 
and,  even  to  Bessie’s  eyes,  although  she  was  far 
from  being  an  agricultural  expert,  the  crops  them- 
selves looked  better.  She  spoke  of  this  to  Eleanor. 

‘‘These  aren’t  just  ordinary  farms,”  Eleanor 
explained.  “My  father  and  some  other  men  who 
have  plenty  of  money  have  bought  up  a lot  of 
land  around  here,  and  they  are  working  the  farms, 

79 


80 


THE  CAMP  PIPE  GIRLS 


and  making  them,  pay  just  as  much  as  possible. 
My  father  thinks  it’s  a shame  for  so  many  boys 
and  young  men,  whose  fathers  own  farms,  to  go 
rushing  off  to  the  city  and  work  in  stores  and 
factories.  And  they  started  out  to  find  out  why 
it  was  that  way.  They’re  business  men,  you  see, 
and  as  soon  as  they  really  began  to  think ’about 
it  they  found  out  what  was  wrong.” 

“Why  the  boys  went  to  the  city?”  asked  Bessie. 
“I  should  think  that  would  be  easy  to  see!  It 
was  around  Hedgeville.  Why,  on  a farm,  the 
work  never  is  done.  It’s  work  all  day,  and  then 
get  up  before  daylight  to  start  again.  And  even 
Paw  Hoover,  who  had  a good  farm,  was  always 
saying  how  poor  he  was,  and  how  he  wished  he 
could  make  more  money.” 

“I’ll  bet  he  was  always  buying  new  land, 
though,”  said  Eleanor,  looking  wise. 

“Yes,  he  was,”  admitted  Bessie.  “He  always 
said  that  if  he  could  get  enough  land  he’d  be  rich.” 

“He  probably  had  too  much  as  it  was,  Bessie. 
The  trouble  with  most  farmers  is  that  they  don’t 
know  how  to  use  the  land  they  have,  instead  of 
that  they  haven’t  enough.  They  don’t  treat  the 
soil  right,  and  they  won’t  spend  money  for  good 
farm  machinery  and  for  rich  fertilizers.  If  they 
did  that,  and  studied  farming,  the  way  men  study 
to  be  doctors  or  lawyers,  they’d  be  better  off. 
How  many  acres  did  Paw  Hoover  have?  Well, 
it  doesn’t  matter,  but  I’ll  bet  that  my  father  gets 


ON  THE  FARM 


81 


more  out  of  one  acre  on  his  farm  than  Paw  Hoo- 
ver does  out  of  two  on  his.  You  see,  the  man 
who’s  in  charge  of  the  farm  went  to  college  to 
study  the  business,  and  he  knows  all  sorts  of 
things  that  make  a farm  pay  better.” 

“Paw  Hoover  was  talking  about  that  once,  say- 
ing he  wished  he  could  send  Jake  to  college  to 
study  farming.  But  Maw  laughed  at  him,  and 
Jake  couldn’t  have  gone,  anyhow.  He  was  so 
stupid  that  he  never  even  got  through  school  there 
in  Hedgeville.” 

“I  suppose  he  is  stupid,”  said  Eleanor.  “But, 
after  all,  Bessie,  when  a boy  doesn’t  get  along  well 
in  school  it  doesn’t  always  mean  that  it’s  his  fault. 
He  may  not  be  properly  taught.  Sometimes  it’s 
the  school’s  fault,  and  not  the  pupil’s.” 

“Other  people  got  along  all  right,”  said  Bes- 
sie. She  wasn’t  quite  prepared  to  say  a good 
word  for  Jake  Hoover  yet.  He  had  caused  her 
too  much  trouble  in  the  past. 

“Why,”  she  went  on,  “I  used  to  have  to  do 
his  lessons  for  him  all  the  time.  He  just  wouldn’t 
study  at  home,  Miss  Eleanor,  and  in  school  he 
was  so  big,  and  such  a bully,  that  most  of  the 
teachers  were  afraid  of  him.” 

“That  just  shows  they  weren’t  good  teachers, 
Bessie.  No  good  teacher  is  ever  afraid  of  a bully. 
She  has  plenty  of  people  to  back  her  up  if  she 
really  needs  help.  I don’t  say  Jake  Hoover  is 
any  better  than  he  ought  to  be,  but  from  all  you 


82 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


tell  me  part  of  his  trouble  may  be  because  he 
hasn’t  been  properly  handled.  But  let’s  forget 
him,  anyhow.  Look  over  there.  Do  you  see  that 
white  house  on  top  of  the  hill!” 

“Against  the  sun,  so  that  it’s  sort  of  pink  where 
the  sun  strikes  it!”  said  Bessie.  “Yes,  what  a 
lovely  place!” 

“Well,  that’s  where  we’re  going,”  said 
Eleanor. 

“But— but  that  doesn’t  look  a bit  like  a farm- 
house!” said  Bessie,  surprised.  “I  thought—” 

“You  thought  it  would  be  more  like  the  Hoover 
farm,  didn’t  you!”  laughed  Eleanor.  “Well,  of 
course  that’s  only  our  house,  and  Dad  built  a nice 
one,  on  the  finest  piece  of  land  he  could  find,  be- 
cause we  were  going  to  spend  a good  deal  of  time 
there.  There’s  electric  light  and  running  water  in 
all  the  rooms  and  we’re  just  as  comfortable  there 
as  we  would  be  in  the  city.  ’ ’ 

“Ifs  beautiful,  but  really,  Miss  Eleanor,  I don’t 
believe  most  farmers  could  afford-  a place  like 
that,  even  if  they  were  a lot  better  off  than  Paw 
Hoover—” 

“They  could  afford  a lot  of  the  comforts,  Bes- 
sie, because  they  don’t  cost  half  as  much  as  you’d 
think.  The  electric  light,  for  instance,  and  the 
running  water.  The  light  comes  from  power  that 
we  get  from  the  brook  right  on  the  farm,  and  it 
costs  less  than  it  does  to  light  the  house  in  the 
city.  And  the  water  is  pumped  from  the  well 


ON  THE  FARM 


"by  a windmill  that  cost  very  little  to  put  up.  You* 
see,  there’s  a big  tank  on  the  roof,  and  whenever^ 
there’s  a wind,  the  mill  is  started  to  running  and 
the  tank  is  filled.  Then  there’s  enough  water  on 
hand  to  last  even  if  there  shouldn’t  be  enough 
wind  to  turn  the  mill  for  two  or  three  days,  though, 
that’s  something  that  very  seldom  happens.  If 
all  the  farmers  knew  how  easily  they  could  have 
these  little  comforts,  and  how  cheap  they  are, 

I believe  more  of  them  would  put  in  those  con- 
veniences. ” I 

“Oh,  how  much  easier  it  would  have  been  at  i 
Hoover’s  if  we’d  had  them!”  sighed  Bessie,  i 
“There  we  had  to  fill  the  lamps  every  day,  and 
every  bit  of  water  we  used  in  the  house  had  to  be 
drawn  at  the  "well  and  carried  in  pails.  It  was 
awfully  hard  wrork.  ” 

“You  see,  Maw  Hoover  didn’t  have  such  an 
easy  time,  Bessie,”  said  Eleanor.  “She  had  all 
that  work  about  the  house  to  do  for  years  and 
years.  She  didn’t  need  to  be  so  mean  to  you, 
but,  after  all,  she  might  have  been, nicer  if  she’d 
had  a pleasanter  life.  It’s  easy  to  be  nice  and 
agreeable  when  everything  is  easy,  and  everything 
goes  right,  but  when  you  have  to  work  hard  all  the 
time,  if  you’re  a little  bit  inclined  to.be  mean,  the 
grind  of  doing  the  same  thing  day  after  day,  year 
after  year,  seems  to  bring  the  meanness  right  out. 
I’ve  seen  lots  of  instances  of  that,  and  I’m  per- 
fectly sure  that  if  I were  a fanner’s  wife,  and  had: 


'84 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


to  work  like  a slave  I’d  be  a perfect  shrew  and 
there ’d  be  no  living  with  me  at  all.  ’ ’ 

They  turned  in  from  the  road  now,  the  wagon  in 
which  Bessie  and  Eleanor  rode  in  the  lead,  and 
came  into  a pretty  avenue  that  led  up  a gentle 
grade  to  the  ridge  on  which  the  house  was  built. 
There  were  trees  at  each  side  to  provide  shade 
in  the  hot  part  of  the  day,  and  for  a long  distance 
on  each  side  of  the  trees  there  were  well  kept 
lawns. 

“My  father  likes  a place  to  be  beautiful  as  well 
as  useful,”  said  Eleanor,  “so  he  had  those  lawns 
made  when  we  built  the  house.  All  the  farmers 
in  the  neighborhood  thought  it  was  an  awful  waste 
of  good  land,  but  since  then  some  of  them  have 
come  to  see  that  if  they  ever  wanted  to  sell  their 
places  people  would  like  them  better  if  they  were 
pretty,  and  they’ve  copied  this  place  a good  deal 
in  the  neighborhood. 

“We ’re  very  glad,  because  right  now  Cheney 
County  is  the  pr'ettiest  farming  section  anywhere 
around,  and  the  crops  are  about  the  best  in  the 
state,  too.  So,  you  see,  we  seem  to  have  shown 
them  that  they  can  have  pretty  places  and  still 
make  money.  And  sometimes  those  lawns  are  used 
for  grazing  sheep,  so  they’re  useful  as  well  as 
•ornamental.” 

Then  in  a few  minutes  they  were  at  the  house, 
and  the  smiling  housekeeper,  whom  Eleanor  intro- 
duced to  the  girls  as  Mrs.  Farnham,  greeted  them. 


ON  THE  FARM 


9$ 


“ She’s  great!”  she  said,  enthusiastically.  “I 
think  we’re  going  to  be  fine  friends,  Miss 
Eleanor.  ’ ’ 

“I  hope  so.  There  isn’t  a bit  of  real  harm  in 
Dolly,  but  she’s  mischievous  and  loves  to  tease, 
and  I’m  afraid  that  some  time  she’ll  go  too  far 
and  get  herself  into  trouble  without  meaning  to 
at  all.” 

“She  doesn’t  like  her  aunt,  Miss  Eleanor— 
the  one  she  lives  with  now  that  her  father’s  away 
so  much.” 

Miss  Mercer  made  a wry  face. 

“Miss  Ransom’s  lovely  in  many  ways,”  she 
said,  “but  she  doesn’t  understand  young  girls, 
and  she  seems  to  think  that  Dolly  ought  to  be  just 
as  wise  and  staid  and  sober  as  if  she  were  grown 
up.  I think  that  is  the  chief  reason  for  Dolly’s 
mischief.  It  has  to  have  some  way  to  escape,  and 
she’s  pretty  well  tied  down  at  home.  So  I over- 
look a lot  of  her  tricks,  when,  if  one  of  the  other 
girls  was  guilty,  I’d  have  to  speak  pretty  severely 
about  it.  Well,  here  she  is  now!  Go  off  with  her 
if  you  like,  Bessie.” 

“Oh,  Miss  Mercer,  what  do  we  have  to  do  this 
morning?”  shouted  Dolly  as  soon  as  she  saw 
Bessie  and  the  Guardian. 

“What  you  like  until  after  lunch,  Dolly.  Then 
perhaps  we  may  want  to  arrange  to  do  something 
all  together— have  a cooking  lesson,  or  learn 
something  about  the  farm.  We’ll  see.  But  you 


m THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIELS 

and  Bessie  might  as  well  go  over  the  place  now 
and  get  acquainted  with  it.  Bessie  can  probably 
find  her  way  about  easier  than  you  city  girls.” 

“Oh,  I’m  so  glad!”  cried  Dolly.  “Come  on, 
Bessie ! I bet  we  can  have  lots  of  sport.  ’ ’ 

So  they  went  off,  and,  though  Bessie  wanted  to 
see  the  great  barn  in  which  the  horses  were  kept, 
Dolly  wanted  to  go  toward  the  road  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  place,  and  Bessie  yielded,  since  the 
choice  of  direction  didn’t  seem  a bit  important 
then. 

“I  saw  one  of  those  boys  who  drove  us  up  last 
night  going  off  this  way,”  Dolly  explained,  guile- 
lessly, “and,  Bessie,  he  looked  ever  so  much 
nicer  in  his  blue  overalls  than  he  did  in  that 
horrible,  stiff,  black  suit  he  was  wearing  last 
night.  ’ ’ 

“You  shouldn’t  laugh  at  his  clothes.  They’re 
his  very  best,  Dolly.  The  overalls  are  just  his 
working  clothes,  and  you’d  hurt  his  feelings  ter- 
ribly if  he  knew  that  you  were  laughing  at  the 
store  clothes.  He  probably  had  to  save  up  his 
money  for  a long  time  to  buy  them.” 

“Oh,  well,  I don’t  care!  I wonder  if  there’s 
any  place  around  here  where  you  can  buy  ice- 
cream soda?  I’m  just  dying  to  have  some.” 

“I  thought  you  were  going  without  soda  and 
candy  for  a month  to  get  an  honor  bead,  Dolly.” 

“Oh,  bother!  I was,  but  it  was  too  hard.  I 
got  a soda  when  I’d  gone  without  for  two  weeks. 


ON  THE  FARM 


95 


and  I never  thought  of  the  old  honor  head  until 
I’d  begun  to  drink  it.  So  that  discouraged  me, 
and  I gave  it  up.  ’ ’ 

“But  don’t  you  feel  much  better  when  you 
don’t  eat  candy  and  drink  sodas  between  meals?” 

“I  don’t  know— maybe  I do.  Yes,  I guess  I 
do.  But  they  taste  so  good,  Bessie ! ’ ’ 

“Well,  I’m  afraid  you’ll  have  to  do  without 
the  soda  here.” 

Dolly  was  still  really  leading  the  way,  and  now, 
her  eyes  on  a blue  clad  figure,  she  decided  to 
leave  the  avenue  of  trees  that  led  to  the  road 
and  cut  across  a field. 

“Don’t  you  love  the  smell  of  the  hay,  Bessie?” 
asked  Dolly.  “I  think  it’s  fine.  That’s  one  of 
the  things  I like  best  about  the  country,  and  being 
on  a farm.  ’ ’ 

“I  guess  I know  it  too  well  to  get  excited  about 
it,  Dolly.  You  see,  I’ve  lived  on  a farm  almost 
all  my  life,  and  so  things  like  that  aren’t  new  to 
me.  But  it  is  lovely  and,  yes,  I do  believe  I’ve 
missed  it,  there  in  the  city.” 

“Wouldn’t  you  rather  live  in  the  city,  though!” 

“Yes,  because  I wasn’t  happy  where  I was  in 
the  country,  and  in  the  city  I’ve  had  everything 
to  make  me  happy.  I suppose  you’d  rather  live  in 
the  country,  though?” 

“No,  indeed!  I like  to  hear  the  city  noises  at 
night,  and  to  see  all  the  people.  And  I like  to  go 
to  the  theatre,  when  my  aunt  lets  me  go  to  a 


96 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


matinee,  and  to  the  moving  picture  shows,  and 
everything  like  that.  Don ’t  you  love  the  movies  ? ’ ’ 

“I  never  went,  so  I don’t  know.” 

“Not  really?  You  don’t  mean  they  haven’t 
even  got  a moving  picture  place  in  Hedgeville?  I 
never  heard  of  such  a thing!” 

Bessie  laughed. 

“Moving  pictures  are  pretty  new,  Dolly.  No 
one  could  go  to  them  until  a little  while  ago,  no 
matter  where  they  lived,  or  how  much  money 
they  had.  And  I guess  people  got  along  all  right 
without  them.” 

“Yes,  but  they  had  to  get  along  without  lots 
of  things  until  they  were  invented— telephones 
and  electric  lights,  and  lots  and  lots  of  useful 
things  like  that.  But  you  wouldn’t  expect  us  to 
get  along  without  them  now,  would  you?” 

“I  guess  it’s  only  the  things  we  know  about 
that  we  really  need,  Dolly.  If  we  don’t  know 
about  a lot  of  these  modern  things,  we  keep  right 
along  getting  on  without  them.  Like  Hedge- 
ville—the  only  man  there  who  has  a telephone  is 
Parmer  Weeks.” 

“Yes,”  said  Dolly  triumphantly,  “and  he’s  got 
'more  money  than  all  the  rest  of  the  people  in  the 
place  put  together,  hasn’t  he?” 

Bessie  laughed. 

“And  all  this  just  because  you  want  an  ice-cream 
soda!  What  will  you  do  if  you  ready  can’t  have 
one,  Dollv?” 

7 «/ 


ON  THE  FARM 


97 


“I  don’t  know!  I’m  just  hankering  for  one— 
my  mouth  is  watering  from  thinking  about  it ! ” 

“We  might  ask  this  boy.  Miss  Eleanor  said 
his  name  was  Stubbs,  Walter  Stubbs.” 

Bessie  smiled  to  herself  as  she  saw  how  sur- 
prised Dolly  was  trying  to  seem  at  the  discovery 
that  they  had  come  to  the  part  of  the  field  where 
Walter  was  working.  He  was  red  to  the  ears, 
but  Bessie  could  tell  from  the  way  he  was  looking 
at  Dolly  that  the  city  girl,  with  her  smart  clothes 
and  her  pretty  face,  had  already  made  a deep 
impression  on  the  farm  boy.  Now,  as  the  two 
girls  approached,  he  looked  at  them  sheepishly, 
standing  first  on  one  foot,  then  on  the  other. 

“Do  you  work  all  the  time?”  Dolly  asked  him, 
impishly,  darting  a look  at  Bessie. 

“Cal’late  to— most  of  the  time,”  said  Walter. 

“Don’t  you  ever  have  any  fun?  Don’t  you 
ever  meet  a couple  of  girls  and  treat  them  to  ice- 
cream soda,  for  instance?” 

“Oh,  sure!”  said  Walter.  “Year  ago  come 
October  Si  Hinkle  an’  I,  we  went  to  the  city  for 
the  day  with  the  gals  we  was  buzzin’  then  an’  we 
bought  ’em  each  an  ice-cream  sody.” 

“Did  you  have  to  go  to  the  city  to  do  that?” 
said  Dolly. 

“Sure!  Ain’t  no  place  nigher’n  that.  Over 
to  Deer  Crossin’  there’s  a man  has  lemon  pop  in 
bottles  sometimes,  but  he  ain’t  got  no  founting 
like  we  saw  in  the  city,  nor  no  ice-cream,  neither.” 


1 


98  THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIELS 

Dolly  was  a picture  of  woe  and  disappointment. 

“Tell  yer  what,  though,”  said  Walter,  bashfully. 
“Saturday  night  there’s  a goin’  to  be  an  ice- 
cream festival  over  to  the  Methodist  Church  at 
the  Crossing,  an’  I’m  aimin’  ter  go,  though  my 
folks  is  Baptists.  I’ll  treat  yer  to  a plate  of  ice- 
cream over  there.” 

“Will  you,  really’!’  said  Dolly,  brightening  up 
and  looking  as  pleased  as  if.  the  ice-cream  soda 
she  wanted  so  much  had  suddenly  been  set  down 
before  her  in  the  field. 

“I  sure  will,”  said  Walter,  hugely  pleased. 
“Say,  they  play  all  sorts  of  games  over  there— 
forfeits  an’  post  office  an’—” 

Bessie  had  to  laugh  at  Dolly’s  look  of  mystifi-. 
cation. 

“Come  on,  Dolly,”  she  said.  “We  mustn’t 
keep  Walter  from  his  work  or  he’ll  be  getting  into 
trouble.  We  can  see  him  again  some  time  when 
he  isn ’t  so  busy.  ’ ’ And  as  they  walked  off  she  told 
Dolly  about  the  country  games  the  boy  had  spoken 
of— games  in  which  kissing  played  a large  part. 

“The  country  isn’t  as  nice  as  I thought,”  said 
Dolly  dolefully.  “I’m  so  thirsty,  and  there’s  no 
place  to  buy  even  sarsaparilla ! ” 

“Maybe  not,  but  I can  show  you  something  bet- 
ter than  that  for  your  thirst,  Dolly.  See  that 
rocky  place  over  there,  under  the  trees?  I’ll  bet 
there’s  a spring  there.  Let’s  find  out.” 

Sure  enough,  there  was  a spring,  carefully  cov- 


ON  THE  FARM 


9$ 


ered,  and  a cup,  so  that  anyone  working  in  the 
fields  could  get  water,  and  even  Dolly  had  to 
admit  that  no  ice-cream  soda  had  ever  quenched 
her  thirst  as  well. 

“What  delicious  water!”  she  exclaimed. 
“WRere’s  the  ice?” 

* ‘ There  isn ’t  any,  silly ! ’ ’ laughed  Bessie.  “It’s 
cold  like  that  because  it  comes  bubbling  right  up 
out  of  the  ground.” 

“I  bet  that’s  just  the  sbrt  of  water  they  sell  in 
bottles  in  the  city,  because  it’s  so  much  purer  than 
the  city  water,”  said  Dolly.  “But  that’s  an 
awfully  little  spring,  Bessie.” 

“The  basin  isn’t  very  big,  but  that  doesn’t  mean 
that  there  isn’t  always  plenty  of  water.  You  see, 
no  matter  how  much  you  take  out,  there’s  always 
more  coming.  See  that  little  brook?  Well,  this 
spring  feeds  that,  and  it  runs  off  and  joins  other 
brooks,  but  there’s  always  water  here  just  the 
same.  Of  course,  in  a drought,  if  there  was  no 
rain  for  a long  time,  it  might  dry  up,  but  it  doesn’t 
look  as  if  that  ever  happened  here.  ’ ’ 

“Well,  it  is  good  water,  and  that’s  a lot  better 
than  nothing,”  said  Dolly.  “Come  on!  We 
started  for  the  road.  Let’s  go  down  and  sit  on 
the  fence  and  watch  the  people  go  by.” 

So  they  made  their  way  on  through  the  field 
until  they  came  to  the  road,  and  there  they  sat 
on  the  fence,  enjoying  some  apples  that  Bessie 
had  pronounced  eatable,  after  several  attempts  by 


100 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


Dolly  to  consume  some  from  half  a dozen  trees 
that  would  have  caused  her  a good  deal  of  pain 
later.  Two  or  three  automobiles  passed  as  they 
sat  there,  and  Dolly  looked  at  their  occupants 
enviously. 

“If  we  had  a car,  Bessie,”  she  said,  “we  could 
get  to  some  place  where  they  sell  ice-cream  soda 
in  no  time,  and  be  back  in  plenty  of  time  for 
lunch,  too.  I wish  some  friend  of  mine  would 
come  along  in  one  of  those  motors!” 

None  did,  but,  vastly  to  Bessie’s  surprise,  they 
had  not  been  there  long  before  a big  green  touring 
car  that  had  shot  by  them  a few  minutes  before  so 
fast  that  they  could  not  see  its  occupants  at  all, 
•came  back,  doubling  on  its  course,  and  stopped  in 
the  road  just  before  them.  And  on  the  driver’s 
seat,  discarding  his  goggles  so  that  Bessie  could 
recognize  him,  was  Mr.  Holmes— the  man  who 
had  taken  her  and  Miss  Mercer  for  a ride,  and 
whom  she  felt  she  had  so  much  reason  to  distrust! 

“This  is  good  fortune!  I’m  very  glad  indeed 
to  see  you,”  he  said,  cordially,  to  Bessie.  “Miss 
King,  is  it  not— Miss  Bessie  King,  Miss  Mercer’s 
friend?  Won’t  you  introduce  me  to  the  other 
young  lady!” 


CHAPTER  X 


A FOOLISH  PROCEEDING 

Reluctantly  enough,  Bessie  yielded  to  this  re- 
quest. If  she  had  known  how  to  avoid  introduc- 
ing Holmes  to  Dolly,  she  would  have  done  it. 
But  she  was  not  old  enough,  and  not  experienced 
enough,  to  understand  how  to  manage  such  an 
affair*  Had  there  been  occasion,  Miss  Eleanor, 
of  course,  could  have  snubbed  a man  and  still 
been  perfectly  polite  while  she  was  doing  it.  But 
Bessie  had  not  reached  that  point  yet. 

“Are  you  staying  down  here  together?  How 
very  pleasant!”  said  Holmes.  “This  seems  to  be 
a beautiful  place  from  the  road,  but  of  course  one 
can’t  see  very  much  from  an  automobile.” 

“We’re  down  here  with  our  Camp  Fire— a lot 
of  the  girls,”  explained  Dolly,  hurriedly.  “Miss 
Mercer  is  Guardian  of  the  Camp  Fire,  and  this  is 
her  father’s  farm.  It  is  a nice  place,  but  it’s 
dreadfully  slow.  Just  fancy,  there  isn’t  a place 
anywhere  around  where  we  can  even  get  an  ice- 
cream soda!” 

‘ ‘ Dolly ! ’ ’ said  Bessie,  in  a low  voice,  reproach' 
fully.  “You  mustn’t—  ’ ’ 

101 


102 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIRLS 

“What  a tragedy!”  said  Holmes,  laughing. 

“Oh,  of  course,  you  don’t  know  what  it  is  to 
have  a craving  for  soda  and  not  be  able  to  get 
it!”  said  Dolly,  pouting.  “So  you  laugh  at 
ine — ” 

Holmes  was  all  regret  in  a moment. 

“My  dear  Miss  Dolly!”  he  protested.  “I 
wasn’t  laughing  at  you  at  all— really  I wasn’t! 
I was  smiling  at  the  idea  of  there  being'  such  a 
primitive  place  in  a civilized  country.  Really,  I 
was ! And  I’m  sure  it  is  a tragedy.  I believe  I’m 
as  fond  of  ice-cream  soda  as  you,  if  I am  such  an 
old  fellow.  And,  after  all,  though  it  seems  so 
tragic,  it’s  easily  mended,  you  know.  I happen 
to  remember  passing  a most  attractive  looking 
drug  store  in  a town  about  five  miles  back,  and 
that’s  no  ride  at  all  in  this  car.  Jump  in,  both  of 
you,  and  I’ll  run  you  there  and  back  in  no  time!” 

“Oh,  that’s  awfully  kind  of  you,  but  I really 
think  we  shouldn’t,”  stammered  Dolly,  who  had 
meant,  as  soon  as  she  saw  that  Holmes  knew 
Bessie,  to  get  that  invitation. 

“Of  course  we  shouldn’t,  Dolly,”  said  Bessie, 
irritated,  since  she  saw  through  Dolly’s  rather 
transparent  little  scheme  at  once.  “It’s  very  kind 
of  you,  Mr.  Holmes,  but  we  mustn’t  think  of 
troubling  you  so  much.  Dolly  doesn’t  really  want 
an  ice-cream  soda  at  all ; she  just  thinks  she  does, 
and  she’s  much  better  off  without  it.” 

“Oh,  come,  that’s  very  unkind,  Miss  Bessie!  I 


ON  THE  FARM 


103 


can  see  that  your  friend  is  really  suffering  for  a 
strawberry  ice-cream  soda.  And  you  mustn’t 
talk  as  if  I would  be  taking  any  trouble.  I ’m  just 
riding  around  the  country  aimlessly,  for  want  of 
something  better  to  do.  I’m  not  going  anywhere 
in  particular,  and  it  doesn’t  matter  when  I get 
there  or  if  I never  get  there  at  all.  I’m  just  a 
useless  man,  too  old  to  work  any  longer.  Surely 
you  won’t  refuse  to  let  me  make  myself  useful  to 
a young  lady  in  distress?” 

“Oh,”  said  Doily.  “Really,  is  that  so,  Mr. 
Holmes?  Wouldn’t  it  be  a dreadful  amount  of 
trouble  to  you?  Of  course,  if  that’s  so,  and  you 
really  want  us  to  come—” 

“Nonsense,  Dolly!”  said  Bessie,  severely.  “We? 
can’t  go,  and  we  must  be  getting  back  to  the  house.. 
Thank  you  ever  so  much,  Mr.  Holmes— and  good- 
morning ! ’ ’ 

But  Dolly  was  not  to  be  deprived  of  her  treat 
so  easily. 

“I  think  you’re  very  rude,  Bessie!”  she  said.„ 
bridling.  ‘ ‘ That  may  be  the  proper  way  to  act  in*, 
the  country  where  you  came  from,  but  it’s  not  the1 
way  we  do  things  in  the  city  at  all.  Thank  yon: 
very  much,  Mr.  Holmes,  and  I shall  be  very' 
pleased  to  accept  your  kind  invitation,  if  you’re 
sure. it’s  not  troubling  you.” 

“There  you  are,  Miss  Bessie!”  said  Holmes? 
heartily.  “Now,  you  won’t  be  so  unkind  as  to  let 
Miss  Dolly  come  with  me  alone,  will  you?  She’s 


104 


THE  CAMP~  FIRE  GIRLS 


coming,  and  I think  you’d  better  change  your 
mind  and  come,  too.” 

Poor  Bessie  was  in  a quandary.  She  knew  that 
Miss  Mercer,  even  though  she  had  laughed  at  her 
suspicions  of  Mr.  Holmes,  would  not  approve  of 
such  a prank  as  this ; but  she  knew,  also,  that  Dolly, 
inclined  to  be  defiant  and  to  resent  the  exercise  of 
any  authority,  would  not  be  moved  by  that  argu- 
ment. And,  in  the  presence  of  Holmes,  she  could 
hardly  tell  Dolly  the  story  of  Zara’s  disappearance 
and  her  own  suspicions  concerning  the  part  that 
Holmes,  or,  at  least,  his  car,  had  played  in  it. 
Neither,  she  felt,  could  she  let  Dolly  go  alone. 
The  chances  were  that  Holmes  meant  no  harm, 
but  she  knew  that  Miss  Eleanor  had  put  Dolly  in 
her  charge  in  a measure,  and  she  felt  responsible 
for  her  new  chum. 

So,  displeased  as  she  was,  Bessie  climbed  into 
‘the  car  after  Dolly,  who  had  already  taken  her 
place  in  the  tonneau,  and  in  a moment  they  were 
off,  taking  the  road  that  led  away  from  Deer 
Crossing.  Holmes  only  smiled  as  she  got  in 
the  car,  but  before  he  put  on  his  dust  glasses 
Bessie  was  sure  that  she  saw  a look  of  triumph 
in  his  eyes,  as  if  he  had  succeeded  beyond  his 
hopes  in  some  plan  he  had  formed.  Bessie  did 
not  at  all  relish  the  prospect  of  the  little  adven- 
ture upon  which  Dolly’s  whim  had  launched  her, 
but  she  decided  to  take  it  with  a good  grace,  since, 


ON  THE  FARM 


105 


now  that  she  was  in  the  car,  she  had  to  see  it 
through. 

Once  the  car  was  under  way,  going  fast,  Mr. 
Holmes  had  to  devote  all  his  attention  to  driving, 
and,  as  it  was  a large  one,  there  was  so  much 
noise  that  the  two  girls  could  talk  without  being 
heard. 

“I  suppose  you’re  awfully  mad  at  me,”  said 
Dolly,  in  a whisper,  looking  at  Bessie’s  stern  face. 
“Oh,  Bessie,  I couldn’t  help  it!  He  was  so  nice 
about  it,  and  it  was  such  a lovely  chance  to  tease 
you ! I do  try  to  be  good,  but  every  time  I see  a 
chance  to  do  anything  like  that  I just  can’t  seem 
to  help  it.” 

“I  asked  you  not  to.  You  could  see  I didn’t 
■want  to  go,  Dolly.  And  if  we’re  going  to  be 
friends,  you  oughtn’t  to  force  me  into  doing  things 
I don’t  want  to  do.” 

‘ ‘ Oh,  Bessie,  you  ’re  not  going  to  be  mean  about 
it,  and  keep  on  being  angry?  You  won’t  tell  Miss 
Eleanor,  will  you?  She’d  send  me  home— I know 
she  would!” 

“I  won’t  tell  her,  and  I’m  not  going  to  be 
angry,  either,  Dolly.  But  I’m  very  much  afraid 
you’ll  be  sorry  yourself  before  we  get  back  to  the 
farm,  and  I don’t  see  how  Miss  Eleanor  can  help 
finding  out,  because  I’m  pretty  sure  Mr.  Holmes 
isn’t  going  to  get  us  back  in  time  for  lunch.” 

“Why,  Bessie,  he  said  he  would— he  promised! 
Don’t  you  think  he  means  to  keep  his  word?” 


106 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“I  hope  so,  Dolly,  but  he  told  me  something 
once  that  wasn’t  so,  and— oh,  well,  let’s  not  worry 
about  it  now,  anyhow.  I can’t  explain  everything 
to  you  now,  there  isn’t  time.  It’s  a lovely  ride, 
isn’t  it?  We  might  as  well  enjoy  ourselves,  now 
that  we’re  in  for  it.” 

“That’s  what  I say,  Bessie.  There’s  no  use 
crying  over  spilt  milk,  is  there?  And  I guess  it 
will  be  all  right.  I think  he’s  awfully  nice.  I 
don’t  see  why  you  don’t  like  him.” 

“You  will  when  you  know  as  much  as  I do, 
Dolly,  I’m  afraid.  But  we  won’t  talk  any  more 
about  that.  Oh,  look,  there  is  a town,  right  here ! 
We’re  coming  into  it  now,  do  you  see?  Probably 
this  is  the  place  Mr.  ''Holmes  meant  he  was  going 
to  bring  us  to.” 

But  Bessie’s  fears  were  redoubled  a minute  or 
so  later,  when  the  ca.r,  without  slackening  speed 
at  all,  shot  through  a street  that  was  lined  with 
shops,  two  or  three  of  which,  as  they  could  see, 
were  drug  stores  with  ice-cream  soda  signs  that 
they  could  easily  read  even  from  the  fast  moving 
ear. 

Looking  at  Bessie  as  if  she  were  already  a little 
frightened  and  sorry,  Dolly  leaned  over  and 
touched  Mr.  Holmes  on  the  shoulder. 

“Aren’t  you  going  to  stop  here?”  she  asked. 
“I’m  sure  those  are  awfully  nice  looking  stores, 
Mr.  Holmes.” 


ON  THE  FARM 


107 


He  slowed  up  the  car  at  once,  and  turned  to 
them  with  a.  pleasant  smile. 

“Oh,  this  isn’t  the  place  I meant  at  all,”  he 
said.  “I  don’t  know  anything  about  the  stores 
here.  The  place  I was  thinking  of  is  much  better, 
and  it’s  not  very  far  away.  Besides,  it’s  early 
yet,  and  I think  we  ought  to  have  as  much  of  a 
ride  as  we  can,  don’t  you?” 

Dolly  looked  dubious.  One  glance  at  Bessie  had 
shown  her  that  her  chum  was  not  prepared  to 
accept  this  explanation.  But  they  had  no  choice, 
for  Holmes,  seeming  to  take  their  assent  to  his 
plan  for  granted,  had  turned  on  full  power,  and 
the  car  was  roaring  out  into  open  country  again, 
but  now  in  a direction  almost  at  right  angles  to 
its  former  course.  They  were  travelling  due 
west,  and  Bessie,  without  anything  definite  to 
alarm  her,  felt  herself  growing  more  and  more 
nervous  with  the  passing  minutes.  She  felt  that 
something  was  wrong. 

Her  distrust  of  Holmes,  save  for  so  much  of  it 
as  was  due  to  his  statement  that  he  had  never 
been  in  Hedgeville,  when  she  herself  had  seen 
him  there,  was  almost  wholly  instinctive,  but 
Bessie  knew  that  instinct  is  sometimes  a better 
guide  than  reason,  and  she  began  to  regret  Dolly ’3 
impulsive  action  in  getting  into  the  car  more  and 
more.  Still,  as  matters  stood,  there  was  nothing 
to  do  but  wait  and  see  what  was  to  happen. 

After  all,  no  matter  what  might  come,  she  would 


108 


THE  GAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


not  be  utterly  unprepared.  She  was  expecting 
trouble  of  some  sort,  and  she  knew  that  the  worst 
blows  are  those  that  are  unexpected,  just  as  the 
worst  lightning  is  that  which  flashes  from  a clear 
sky. 

Suddenly,  as  the  car  approached  a little  country 
store,  at  a crossroads,  and  looking  as  though  no 
one  ever  went  there  to  buy  anything,  Holmes 
slowed  up  again. 

“This  isn’t  the  place  you  mean,  is  it?”  asked 
Dolly,  smartly.  “If  it  is,  I must  say  I think 
those  stores  you  wouldn’t  stop  at  are  much  nicer !” 

Holmes  laughed  back  at  her.  He  seemed  to 
have  taken  a great  fancy  to  her,  spoiled  and  pert 
though  she  was. 

“No,  indeed,”  he  said,  “but  I happened  to  see 
by  that  blue  sign  that  they  have  a telephone  inside, 
and  1 just  remembered,  after  we  passed  through 
that  last  village,  that  I ought  to  telephone  a mes- 
sage to  a friend  of  mine  in  the  city.  So,  if  you 
don’t  mind,  I’ll  leave  you  in  the  car  while  I run 
in  and  telephone.  It  won’t  take  me  a minute,  and 
then  we’ll  be  on  our  way  again.” 

Then  he  got  out,  and  cutting  off  the  motor, 
stepped  into  the  store.  In  a moment  Bessie  was 
ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  that 
chance  and  his  carelessness  offered  her. 

“You  keep  perfectly  still,  Dolly,”  she  said, 
earnestly.  “I  know  it  isn’t  supposed  to  be  nice 
to  listen  to  what  you’re  not  meant  to  hear,  but  I 


ON  THE  FARM 


109 


think  this  is  a time  when  I’ve  got  a right  to  try 
to  find  ont  what  I can.  I may  not  be  able  to  do 
it  at  all,  but  I’m  going  to  do  my  best  to  listen  to 
Mr.  Holmes  while  he’s  sending  that  message  and 
find  ont  all  I can  about  it.  Do  you  see  that  win- 
dow at  the  side  of  the  store!  Well,  there’s  just  a 
chance,  I believe,  that  the  telephone  inside  may  bo 
near  the  window.  If  it  is,  I may  be  able  to  find 
out  what  he’s  doing.” 

And,  without  giving  Dolly  a chance  to  protest, 
or  even  to  voice  her  surprise,  Bessie  slipped  from 
the  car  and  ran  lightly  to  the  side  of  the  ram- 
shackle old  building  that  served  as  a store. 
Crouching  down  there,  she  was  able  to  hear  what 
Holmes,  inside,  was  saying,  as  she  had  hoped. 
And  the  very  first  words  she  heard  sent  a thrill 
through  her,  and  banished  any  lingering  regrets 
she  might  have  had  at  playing  the  part,  usually 
so  dishonorable,  of  eavesdropper. 

“Hello!  Hello!”  she  heard  him  saying. 
“What’s  the  matter,  Central!  I want  Hedge- 
ville— number  eight,  ring  five.  Can’t  you  get 
that!” 

Bessie  did  not  know  the  number,  but  very  few 
people  in  Hedgeville  had  a telephone,  and  that  in 
itself  was  suspicious.  She  waited  while  Holmes, 
expressing  his  impatience  volubly,  amid  sympa- 
thetic chuckles  from  the  audience  inside  the  store, 
got  his  connection. 

“Hello!  Hello!  Is  that  you,  Weeks!”  she- 


110 


THE  CAMP  PIEE  GIRLS 


heard  him  say,  at  last,  and  it  was  all  she  could  do, 
when  she  heard  the  name  of  the  man  who  had 
proved  himself  such  a determined  enemy  to  Zara 
and  herself,  to  keep  from  betraying  herself  with 
aery.  “Yes,  yes,  this  is  Holmes!  Where*  am  I? 
'Oh,  ten  miles  from  nowhere!  You  wouldn’t  know 
the  place  if  I were  to  tell  you.  What  you  want  to 
know  is  where  I’m  going  to  be  an  hour  from  now. 
What?  Tell  you®  Well,  that’s  what  I’m  trying 
to  do!  Listen  a little  and  don’t  ask  so  many 
questions.  I’m  going  to  be  in  an  automobile  at 
Jericho.  Know  where  that  is?” 

He  waited,  evidently  listening  to  Weeks. 

“Yes,  that’s  right.  You’ll  be  there,  eh? 
You’ve  got  the  papers?  Well,  don’t  leave  them 
at  home.  We  don’t  want  any  mistake  about  this. 
1 had  a lot  of  luck^didn’t  expect  to  be  able  to  do 
it  so  soon,  or  so  easily.  I’ll  tell  you  about  that 
later.  Jericho,  then.  You  won’t  be  late?  And 
an  hour  from  now.  This  is  risky  work,  Weeks. 
If  you  make  any  of  your  fool  breaks  this  time, 
you’ll  hear  from  me.  Well,  good-bye!” 

As  he  said  good-bye  Bessie  slipped  back  to  the 
automobile,  and  when  Holmes  came  out,  all  bluff 
good-nature,  only  Bessie’s  heightened  color 
showed  that  anything  out  of  the  ordinary  lia:i 
happened  to  her.  As  soon  as  she  returned,  Dolly 
began  to  hurl  question  after  question  at  her,  but 
Bessie  refused  to  answer. 

“Keep  quiet,  Dolly!”  she  urged.  “I’ll  tell  you 


OH  THE  FARM 


111 


all  about  it  when  I can,  but  this  isn’t  the  time  to 
talk.  Yon  don’t  want  to  let  Mr.  Holmes  know 
what  I was  doing,  do  you!  Well,  please  keep 
quiet,  then.” 

Of  course,  if  Holmes  planned  to  do  anything 
wrong,  he  would  not  have  revealed  his  plans 
boldly  to  the  loafers  in  the  store  who  had  been 
listening  to  his  telephone  conversation.  Bessie 
understood  that  what  he  had  said  probably  meant 
more  to  Farmer  Weeks  than  it  could  to  her  or 
any  casual  listener.  But,  even  so,  there  was 
plenty  to  disturb  her  in  what  she  had  heard.  Evi- 
dently the  danger  point  was  Jericho,  and  she 
tried  hard  to  remember  what  she  had  ever  heard 
about  that  place.  It  was  a little  town,  she  thought, 
not  far  from  Hedgeville— and,  then,  suddenly,  she 
got  a clue  to  the  whole  plot.  She  realized  why  the 
change  in  their  direction  had  worried  her.  They 
were  going  toward  Hedgeville,  back  toward  the 
section  of  the  country  from  which  she  and  Zara 
had  escaped  with  so  much  difficulty  on  account  of 
Farmer  Weeks’s  vindictive  pursuit. 

And  she  remembered,'  too,  Charlie  Jamieson’s 
warning  about  crossing  the  state  line.  That,  then, 
was  what  Holmes  meant  to  do— get  her  into  the 
state  where,  although  she  did  not  understand  ex- 
actly how,  she  was  in  danger  of  being  deprived  of 
her  liberty  for  a time  at  least.  It  would  be  easy 
enough,  in  the  automobile.  State  lines  are  not 
well  marked  along  country  roads.  Even  now  she 


112 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


might  have  crossed  that  imaginary  boundary  that 
spelled  the  difference  between  safety  and  peril 
for  her. 

“Listen  to  me,  Dolly,”  she  whispered,  when 
she  had  finished  revolving  her  thoughts.  “I  don’t 
know  what’s  going  to  happen,  but  I’m  sure  that 
Mr.  Holmes  is  trying  to  get  me  back  to  the  people 
I had  to  run  away  from  in  Hedgeville.  You  re- 
member—you  know  what  happened  when  we  were 
on  our  way  to  General  Seeley’s  place,  when  that 
man  caught  Zara  and  carried  her  off?” 

Dolly  nodded,  greatly  excited. 

“So  you  can  see  that  I may  get  into  a lot  of 
trouble,  Dolly.  You’ll  help  me,  won’t  you?” 

“Of  course  I will!  And  I’m  awfully  sorry  for 
getting  you  into  it  in  the  first  place,  Bessie.  ’ ’ 

“Don’t  worry  about  that!  I’m  going  to  for- 
get about  it.  But  now  remember  that  you  must  do 
.lust  as  I say  for  the  next  hour  or  so,  even  if  you 
don’t  understand  why.  I don’t  know  yet  what 
Mr.  Holmes  is  going  to  do,  and  so  I can’t  make 
any  plans  ahead.  I’ll  just  have  to  try  to  do  the 
best.  I can  to  fool  him  when  he  shows  his  hand, 
and  if  may  be  that  the  only  way  I can  do  it  is 
with  your  help.” 

“I’ll  help  you,  Bessie.  I won’t  be  silly  again.” 


CHAPTER  XI 


A DARING  MOVE 

For  some  time,  then,  Holmes  drove  the  ear  in 
what  Bessie  soon  saw  to  be  an  aimless  fashion. 
The  morning  was  nearly  done,  and  Bessie,  used  to 
guessing  at  the  time  from  the  sun,  knew  that  it 
was  very  near  noon.  Holmes  seemed  to  he 
doubling  on  his  tracks,  and  to  be  driving  in  what 
resembled  a circle,  as  if  he  were  chasing  his  own 
tail,  and  at  last  Bessie  determined  to  speak  to  him 
and  try  to  make  him  show  his  hand.  The  sus- 
pense of  waiting  for  something  to  happen  was 
making  her  nervous.  She  felt  that  even  the  re- 
alization of  her  fears  would  be  welcome,  since 
then,  at  least,  she  could  do  something. 

“Mr.  Holmes,”  she  said,  “I  really  think  you’d 
better  be  taking  us  back.  It’s  very  late,  and  I’m 
afraid  Misp  Mercer  will  be  worried  about  us.” 

“Not  she!”  said  Holmes,  cheerfully.  “The 
fact  is,  I’ve  rather  lost  my  way,  and  those  stupid 
men  at  that  store  where  we  stopped  did  not  seem 
to  be  able  to  do  much  toward  setting  me  right. 
So,  knowing  that  we  might  be  late,  I took  the 
liberty  of  telephoning  to  Miss  Mercer  and  said 


113 


114 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


that,  if  she  didn’t  mind,  I’d  take  you  two  to 
luncheon  somewhere  and  bring  you  back  in  the 
afternoon.  ’ ’ 

Bessie  gasped  at  the  cool  daring  of  the  way  in 
which  he  told  the  lie.  But  then  she  reflected,  just 
in  time  to  keep  her  from  taxing  him  with  having 
told  an  untruth,  that  he  knew  nothing  of  her 
eavesdropping,  and  therefore  thought  it  was  safe 
to  tell  her  anything  he  liked. 

“Oh!”  she  said.  “I— I didn’t  know  you’d 
done  that.  You  said  you  were  going  to  send  a 
message  to  a friend—” 

“Well,  I flatter  myself  that  Miss  Mercer  and  I 
are  friends,”  said  Holmes,  smiling.  “Why  don’t 
you  cheer  up,  Miss  Bessie?  It’s  all  right— really 
it  is!  You  ought  to  know  that  I -wouldn’t  get 
you  into  trouble  with  Miss  Mercer  for  the  world. 
Why,  I’m  old  enough  to  be  your  father!’ 

“But  if  you’re  lost,  how  do  you  know  where 
you’re  going!”  asked  Bessie,  sticking  to  her 
guns. 

“I  don’t  know,  of  course— not  exactly,  that  is. 
But  I know  that  if  I keep  on  going  this  way  I’ll 
come  to  some  place  where  we  can  get  a nice 
luncheon.  This  is  pretty  thickly  settled  country 
around  here,  you  know,  and  it’s  used  a lot  by 
automobile  parties.  So  we’re  sure  to  find  some 
sort  of  a place  soon.  They  have  them  wherever 
they  think  they  can  persuade  motorists  to  stop 
and  spend  their  money.” 


ON  THE  FARM 


115 


“If  Miss  Mercer  knows  where  we  -are  and  said 
it  was  all  right  for  ns  to  stay  it  must  he  all  right, 
Bessie,  mustn’t  it?”  asked  Dolly,  who  had  over- 
heard what  they  were  saying.  “Oh,  I’m  so  glad, 
Bessie!  That  shows  you  were  mistaken,  doesn’t 
it,  and  that  it  wasn’t  so  wicked  of  me  to  get  you 
to  come?” 

“Hush,  Dolly!”  said  Bessie,  in  a whisper.  “I 
can’t  let  Mr.  Holmes  know  it  now,  of  course,  hut 
don’t  you  remember  that  I heard  him  while  he 
was  telephoning,  when  he  thought  I was  safe  here 
in  the  car,  and  out  of  sight  and  sound  of  him? 
He  didn’t  telephone  to  Miss  Mercer  at  all.  He’s 
just  saying  he  did,  because  he  thinks  he  can  fool 
me  and  make  me  believe  anything  he  pays.  I 
heard  what  he  telephoned,  and  he  never  even 
called  up  the  farm!” 

Even  Dolly  was  a little  scared  at  that.  It  never 
occurred  to  her  to  doubt  what  Bessie  said.  Some- 
how, people  seemed  always  to  be  ready  to  believe 
her.  And,  remembering  the  way  Holmes  had  de- 
clared that  he  had  spoken  with  Miss  Mercer,  Dolly 
began  to  realize  that  Bessie  was  right,  and  that 
there  must  be  something  underhanded  about 
Holmes.  Bessie,  although  she  was  sorry  that 
Dolly  had  to  be  frightened  in  such  a fashion, 
was  glad  of  the  fact  just  the  same,  because  it 
meant  that  she  could  depend  upon  Dolly  now  to 
obey  her,  no  matter  what  she  told  her  to  do. 

As  a matter  of  fact,  it  seemed  to  Bessie  that 


116 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


fear  was  about  the  only  thing  that  did  drive  Dolly, 
who,  if  she  thought  the  consequence  would  not  be 
too  unpleasant,  usually  managed  to  have  her  own 
way  as  decidedly  as  she  had  done  in  regard  to 
accepting  the  offer  of  Holmes  to  take  them  to  a 
place  where  they  could,  get  her  much  coveted  ice- 
cream soda. 

Bessie,  remembering  what  she  had  heard  Holmes 
say  about  meeting  Farmer  Weeks  in  an  hour,  be- 
gan now  to  keep  her  eyes  open,  and  she  soon  dis- 
covered that  they  had  ceased  their  aimless  driving 
about,  and  were  travelling  along  what  was  evi- 
dently a highroad,  since  it  showed  the  marks  of 
many  wheels  and  hoofs.  And  a glance  at  the 
sun  was  enough,  too,  to  let  her  know  that  the 
crisis  of  this  silly  adventure  was  approaching, 
since  nearly  an  hour  had  elapsed  since  she  had 
overheard  the  conversation. 

And,  sure  enough,  just  as  she  had  expected,  it 
was  not  long  before  Bessie  saw  that  the  houses 
along  the  road  were  closer  and  closer  to  one  an- 
other, and  a few  moments  later  the  tall,  white 
steeple  of  a church  and  the  smoke  from  the  chim- 
neys in  a small  town  made  it  plain  that  they  were 
approaching  a town— most  likely  Jericho. 

“Well,  well,  I know  this  place,”  said  Holmes, 
turning  to  speak  to  them.  “It’s  Jericho,  and  it’s 
in  your  own  state,  Miss  Bessie.  Didn’t  you  tell 
me  that  you  used  to  live  in  Hedgeville?  That’s 
not  so  very  far  from  here.” 


ON  THE  FARM 


117 


There  was  a strange  look  in  his  eyes  as  he 
looked  fixedly  at  Bessie,  and  now  she  no  longer  had 
any  doubt  that  he  meant  mischief,  and  that  it  be- 
hooved her,  if  she  wanted  to  escape  from  the  trap 
into  which  she  was  being  led,  to  have  all  her  wits 
about  her.  As  they  entered  the  town  she  kept  her 
eyes  open,  but  there  was  no  sign  of  Farmer 
Weeks.  He  was  late,  and  Bessie  was  glad  of  that, 
since,  now  that  she  could  guess  what  she  must 
face,  every  added  minute  of  safety  and  freedom 
from  interference  was  so  much  clear  gain.  A 
plan  was  forming  in  her  head,  a wild,  reckless  sort 
of  plan,  but  still  one  that  offered  some  chance,  at 
least,  of  getting  ont  of  a very  disagreeable 
position. 

“Hungry!”  asked  Holmes,  turning  to  them  as 
he  slowed  the  car  near  the  railroad  station. 
“Well,  well  have  some  lunch  in  just  a minute. 
I’m  just  going  in  here  to  make  some  inquiries 
about  the  roads  and  I’ll  be  right  back.” 

Bessie’s  eyes  followed  him  into  the  station,  and 
then,  jnst  as  she  had  done  before,  she  slipped  from 
the  car  as  soon  as  he  was  inside,  following  him 
cautiously,  but  feeling  that  there  was  less  danger 
than  there  had  been  at  the  store,  since  here,  if  she 
were  surprised,  she  could  explain  that  she  felt 
cramped  from  the  long  ride,  and  had  gotten  ont  of 
the  ear  to  restore  her  circulation.  Then,  peeping 
inside,  she  saw  Holmes  talking  eagerly,  and,  as 
she  thought,  angrily,  to  Jake  Hoover! 


118 


THE  CAMP  PIPE  GIRLS 


“He’ll  be  here  soon— jes’  as  soon  as  lie  can  get 
here,”  sbe  beard  Jake  say.  And  sbe  beard 
Holmes’s  angry  reply,  and  nothing  more,  since 
that  was  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  to  eon- 
firm  her  fears  and  make  her  understand  that  if 
sbe  was  to  get  out  of  this  trap  she  must  make  a 
move  at  once.  And  now,  knowing  perfectly  well 
the  risk  sbe  was  running,  sbe  sped  back  to  the 
car,  and  climbed  aboard,  but  in  the  front  seat, 
where  Holmes  had  been  sitting,  and  not  next  to 
Dolly,  in  her  own  proper  place.  For  her  plan 
was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  to  get  away  in 
Holmes’s  own  ear! 

Bessie  had  never  driven  an  automobile  in  her 
life,  and  she  knew  as  little,  almost,  as  it  was  poss- 
ible . for  anyone  to  know  about  them.  But  she 
felt  that  all  the  sacrifices  she  had  endured  so  far 
would  be  made  useless  unless  she  got  away,  and, 
moreover,  she  was  sure  now  that  Zara  would  need 
her  help  more  than  ever.  And  if  she  could  only 
get  a little  distance  away  from  Holmes,  she  was 
sure  that  she  and  Dolly  would  be  able  to  elude 
him.  So,  doing  exactly  what  she  had  seen  Holmes 
do,  she  threw  in  the  clutch,  and,  with  nervous, 
trembling  hands  on  the  wheel  of  the  big  car, 
guided  it  as  it  gathered  speed  and  moved  across, 
the  railroad  tracks. 

From  the  moment  when  the  idea  of  making  her 
escape  in  this  fashion  had  first  entered  her  mind, 
Bessie  had  watched  Holmes  and  every  move  he 


ON  THE  FARM 


119 


made  like  a oat,  determined  to  be  able  to  do  as 
he  did  if  the  emergency  arose.  And  now  her  re- 
markable ability  to  do  things  that  required  the 
skilled  use  of  her  hands  stood  her  in  good  stead. 

The  car  was  a silent  one  at  low  speed,  and  it 
had  gone  nearly  a hundred  feet  before  Holmes 
realized  that  something  was  wrong,  and  came 
running  out  of  the  station,  followed  by  the  wide- 
eyed  Jake  Hoover.  And  Bessie  increased  her 
start  while  he  stood  there,  too  stunned  with 
amazement  even  to  cry  out. 

By  the  time  he  had  gathered  his  wits  enough  to 
begin  shouting  and  running  after  his  car,  pursuit 
was  hopeless,  and  Bessie,  afraid  any  minute  of 
having  an  accident,  was  running  the  car,  still 
slowly,  but  too  fast  for  anything  but  another  car 
to  overtake  it,  out  along  the  road  that  led  out  of 
Jericho. 

Dolly  had  screamed  when  she  saw  what  Bessie 
meant  to  do,  but  after  that  she  had  been  too 
frightened  even  to  speak.  But  when  they  were 
out  of  range  of  Holmes’s  shouts  and  angry  cries 
she  regained  her  courage  enough  to  lean  over  and 
speak  to  Bessie. 

‘ ‘ Oh,  Bessie,  do  stop ! ’ ’ she  begged.  “We  might 
run  into  someone,  or  be  run  into  ourselves.  This 
is  awfully  dangerous,  I know!” 

“So  do  I know  that,”  said  Bessie.  “But  we 
had  to  do  something,  Dolly,  and  this  was  the  only 
thing  I could  think  of  to  do,  though  I didn’t  want 


120 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


to.  But  we’re  not  going1  to  stay  in  the  car,  don’t 
worry!  Do  jmu  see  that  lane  that  comes  into 
the  road  just  beyond  that  big  oak  tree?  Well,  I’m 
going  to  turn  up  there,  and  leave  the  car  so  that 
they  can  find  it.  I don’t  want  to  steal  the  car, 
you  know.” 

Bessie  managed  the  turn  successfully,  and, 
frightened  as  s'he  was,  even  the  few  minutes  that 
she  had  spent  in  driving  the  car  had  thrilled  and 
exhilarated  her.  She  ran  slowly  up  the  lane,  and 
when  the  main  road  was  hidden  by  a curve,  she 
stopped  the  car  and  got  out. 

“There!”  she  said.  “Dolly,  if  I only  knew 
more  about  running  ’it,  I’d  like  to  go  back  to  the 
farm  in  the  car.  It  would  serve  Mr.  Holmes  right 
if  we  did,  you  know,  for  he  was  trying  to  play  a 
mighty  mean  trick  on  me.  I wonder  if  I’ll  ever 
be  able  to  learn  to  drive  a car  like  that?  I’d  love 
to  be  able  to,  and  to  have  one  of  my  own  to 
drive ! ” 

“How  are  we  going  to  get  home?”  wailed  poor 
Dolly.  “Oh,  Bessie,  what  an  awful  fool  I’ve  been! 
And  now  I’m  hungry  and  tired,  and  we’re  lost, 
and  miles  from  the  farm,  and  Miss  Eleanor  will 
be  furious  at  me ! ’ ’ 

“Cheer  up,  Dolly!  We’ll  get  home  all  right. 
And  I’ll  see  that  Miss  Eleanor  understands  all 
right.  She  won’t  be  angry.  She’ll  probably  tell 
you  that  you’ve  been  punished  enough  when  we 
get  back.  I don’t  know  about  getting  anything  to 


ON  THE  FARM 


121 


eat,  though.  We  can’t  do  that  around  here.  All 
we  want  to  do  now  is  to  get  away  from  here.  ’ ’ 

, Then  suddenly  she  had  an  idea. 

“I’m  not  going  to  steal  his  nasty  old  car, ’ ’ said 
Bessie,  “hut  I am  going  to  borrow' something  that 
ought  to  be  in  it,  and  that’s  a map ! Anyone  who 
travels  around  as  much  as  he  does  must  have 
maps  that  show  the  roads,  and,  as  long  as  he  lias 
got  us  into  this  mess,  I don’t  see  why  we  shouldn’t 
take  something  from  his  car  to  help  us  out  of  it. 
I’ll  send  it  hack  to  him  as  soon  as  we  get  to  the 
farm.  Here— let’s  see— yes,  here’s  a whole  lot  of 
little  maps.” 

“Let  me  see,  Bessie.  I’ve  seen  those  maps  be- 
fore. I bet  I can  find  the  right  one  that  wa  want 
in  a jiffy.  Yes,  here  it  is!” 

“All  right.  Let’s  get  off  in  the  woods  here 
and  look  at  it,  Dolly.  We  don’t  want  to  stay  near 
the  car,  because  they’ll  soon  find  that  we  turned 
up  this  lane,  and  they’ll  come  looking  for  the  ma- 
chine and  for  us.  So  we  want  to  be  off  where 
they  can’t  see  us.  I’d  hate  to  be  caught  again 
right  now  after  taking  such  a chance  with  that, 
automobile ! ’ ’ 

“But  you  didn’t  act  as  if  you  were  taking  a 
chance,  Bessie.  I thought  you  were  the  bravest 
girl  I’d  ever  seen—” 

“Nonsense,  Dolly!  I was  just  as  frightened  as 
you  were— more  frightened,  I guess.  I didn’t 
know  whether  what  I was  doing  was  right  or  not;, 


122  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 

and  I was  afraid  every  second  I’d  push  the  wrong' 
thing,  or  touch  something  with  my  foot,  and  start 
:it  going  as  fast  as  it  could.” 

“"Well,  when  I’m  frightened,  I show  it,  and  I 
don’t  do  things  that  I’m  afraid  of.  Someone  told 
me  once  that  to  do  something  you  were  really 
afraid  to  do  was  really  the  bravest  thing— braver 
than  if  you’re  not  afraid  when  other  people  would 
be.” 

“Well,  I was  afraid,  and  the  only  reason  I 
started  that  car  was  because  I was  more  afraid  to 
stay  there  than  to  run  the  car,  Dolly.  So  I guess 
we  needn’t  worry  much  about  my  having  been 
brave.  It  was  simply  a question  of  which  I was 
the  most  afraid  of— the  car  or  Mr.  Holmes.  Here, 
this  is  a nice  spot.  We  can  sit  down  on  this  old 
log,  and  there’s  enough  sunlight  coming  down 
through  the  trees  for  us  to  see  the  map.” 

They  sat  down  together  on  the  trunk  of  a fallen 
tree,  and  put  their  heads  together  over  the  map. 

“Plere’s  Jericho,  and  here,  see,  Dolly,  that’s 
the  railroad  we  crossed.  Here’s  the  road— and, 
yes,  here’s  the  lane  we  came  up.  It’s  a good  thing 
we  didn’t  try  to  go  much  further,  isn’t  it?  That 
star  at  the  end  means  that  it  stops  and  just  runs 
into  the  woods.  I expect  they  use  it  for  bringing 
out  the  trees  after  they’re  cut  in  the  winter.” 

“Well,  I’m  glad  we  know  just  where  we  are, 
but  how  are  we  going  to  get  back,  Bessie  ? That ’s 


ON  THE  FARM 


123 

the  chief  thing,  it  seems  to  me.  Don’t  you  think 
so?” 

“I’ve  got  a little  money  with  me,”  said  Bessie, 
thoughtfully.  “If  we  can  walk  until  we  get  to  a 
railroad  station— not  the  one  at  Jericho,  of  course, 
—I  think  we  ought  to  be  able  to  get  back  that  way 
very  easily.  Let’s  look  up  Deer  Crossing  and  see 
if  that  railroad  doesn’t  run  near  here  some- 
where. ’ ’ 

Bessie  took  the  map  then,  and  she  found  that 
Jericho  was  in  the  same  state  as  Hedgeville,  just 
as  she  had  suspected.  She  did  not  know  what  the 
Hoovers  had  done,  and  whether  they  had  obtained 
any  papers  giving  them  control  of  her,  as  Farmer 
Weeks  had  done  in  the  case  of  Zara,  but  she  was 
pretty  sure  that  if  she  were  caught  in  their  state 
Farmer  Weeks  would  find  some  way  of  keeping 
her  there,  and  of  preventing  her  from  getting 
back  to  Miss  Mercer  and  her  friends  of  the  Camp 
Fire  Girls. 

“Mr.  Holmes  took  an  awful  roundabout  way  to 
get  here,  Dolly,  ’ ’ said  Bessie,  when  she  had  fin- 
ished looking  at  the  map.  “But  he  didn’t  really 
bring  us  so  very  far  away.  If  we  were  riding 
in  an  automobile,  I don’t  think  it  would  take  us 
more  than  an  hour  to  get  back.  But,  as  we 
haven’t  got  a ear,  here’s  the  best  thing  for  us  to 
do.  We  can  follow  this  lane,  except  that  we’d  bet- 
ter walk  through  the  woods  instead  of  going  back 
to  the  lane,  and  come  out  on  another  main  road 


124 


. THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


about  two  miles  away.  That  will  take  us  over 
here”— she  pointed  to  a place  on  the  map— “and 
there  we  can  get  a trolley  car  to  this  station. 
There’ll  be  a train  to  take  us  to  Deer  Crossing' 
from  there,  and  then  we  can  get  home  easily.  Of 
course,  we  don’t  know  how  the  trains  run,  and  we 
may  have  to  wait  a long  time  for  one,  but  it’s  the 
best  thing  to  do,  I’m  sure.” 

“Well,  we’d  better  start  right  away,  I guess,” 
said  Dolly,  stoutly.  “I’m  an  awfully  slow  walker 
in  the  woods,  Bessie.  I ’m  not  used  to  them.  But 
I’ll  hurry  as  much  as  ever  I can  for  I’ve  given 
you  trouble  enough  already  to-day.  ’ ’ 

The  woods  were  very  quiet,  and  Bessie  was 
rather  surprised  at  the  absence  of  signs  of  life- 
human  life,  that  is.  Of  squirrels  and  chipmunks 
and  birds  there  were  plenty,  but  it  seemed  strange 
to  her  that  in  so  thickly  settled  a part  of  the 
country  so  much  land  should  be  left  covered  with 
woods.  But  it  was  good  for  their  purpose,  since 
she  was  sure  that  Holmes  would  have  complained 
that  his  car  was  stolen,  and  he  would  not,  of 
course,  have  told  people  the  reason  for  Bessie’s 
seemingly  mad  action.  Nor  wTould  their  word  be 
likely  to  be  taken  against  his.  So  the  thing  for 
them  to  do  was  to  escape  observation.  And  until 
just  before  the  woods  began  to  clear,  they  seemed 
likely  to  do  so.  But  then  there  was  a shock  for 
Bessie,  for,  right  in  front,  she  suddenly  heard 
Jake  Hoover’s  voice. 


CHAPTEE  Xn 


FRIENDS  IN  NEED 

Bessie  clutched  Dolly’s  arm  and  drew  her  back 
just  in  time,  for  Dolly,  growing  enthusiastic  at  the 
sight  of  the  road,  had  been  about  to  spring  for- 
ward with  a cry  of  joy. 

“That’s  Jake  Hoover,  the  boy  who  used  to  bully 
me  and  tried  to  frighten  us  when  we  were  all  in 
camp.  Do  you  remember,  Dolly!  We  mustn’t 
let  him  see  us ! He ’s  in  with  Mr.  Holmes  and 
Farmer  Weeks,  and  I’m  really  more  afraid  of  him 
than  I am  of  Mr.  Holmes.  He  hates  me,  anyhow, 
and  he’d  do  anything  he  could  to  hurt  me,  I be- 
lieve. ’ ’ 

They  crouched  down  behind  some  bushes  then, 
and  worked  their  way  forward  cautiously,  making 
as  little  noise  as  possible,  until  they  could  see  the 
road  and  so  have  a chance  to  find  out  what  Jake 
was  doing  in  that  neighborhood.  At  first  Bessie, 
who  was  in  the  van,  did  not  see  J ake,  and,  looking 
hastily  up  and  down,  she  found  that  there  were 
no  houses  in  sight  and  that  they  had  struck  a 
lonely  and  solitary  part  of  the  road.  Then  she 


125 


126 


THE  CAMP  PIPE  GIRLS 


heard  Jake’s  voice  again,  and,  answering  him, 
Mr.  Holmes’s. 

“It’s  like  looking  for  a needle  in  a haystack,” 
growled  Holmes.  “If  old  Weeks  had  got  to  Jeri- 
cho on  time,  we’d  have  saved  all  this  trouble.” 

“He  was  doing  his  best,  mister,”  said  Jake. 
“But  he  had  to  take  the  train.  He  can’t  ride  a 
bicycle,  like  me,  and  a horse  and  buggy  would 
have  taken  him  a long  time.  The  old  man  done 
his  best.  ’T weren’t  his  fault  he  was  late.” 

“Well,  no  use  crying  over  spiit  milk,”  said 
.Holmes.  “You’d  better  walk  down  this  road 
until  you  come  to  the  trolley  line.  Watch  that.  I 
think  they’ll  try  to  get  aboard  the  car  there  and 
get  to  the  railroad  that  way.  That  would  get  them 
back  to  Deer  Crossing,  you  see.  Once  they’re 
out  of  this  state,  we  can’t  touch  Bessie,  and  the 
little  baggage  knows  it.  She’s  too  clever  for  her 
own  good.  If  they  had  been  coming  out  this  way 
they  would  be  here  by  now,  I think.  But  I had 
-an  idea  they’d  strike  through  the  woods.  They 
wouldn’t  follow  the  lane  where  they  left  my  car, 
because  they  would  know  very  well  that  we’d  be 
watching  that.” 

“An’  Bessie  can  find  her  way  through  any 
woods  you  ever  seen,”  said  Jake  Hoover,  gloom- 
ily. “Used  ter  run  away  from  maw  at  home  that- 
away,  an’  we  never  could  find  her  till  she  got 
good  an’  ready  to  come  home  an’  take  her  lickin’.” 

Dolly  grinned  at  Bessie. 


ON  THE  FARM 


127 


“Good  for  you!”  she  whispered.  “Did  you 
really  do  that,  Bessie?  You’re  a good  sport,  after 
all!  I never  thought  you’d  be  disobedient.” 

Bessie  smiled. 

“Listen!”  she  whispered.  “We  mustn’t  talk 
{yet.” 

“What’ll  I do  if  they  come  to  the  trolley  line?” 
asked  Jake. 

“Catch  Bessie  and  hold  her,”  said  Holmes. 
-■“Don’t  pay  any  attention  to  the  other  one,  of 
course.  We’ve  nothing  to  do  with  her,  and  we 
don’t  want  to  be  bothered  by  her.  She’s  a silly, 
brainless  little  thing,  anyway.” 

Bessie’s  hand  sought  Dolly’s  and  held  it  tight. 
And  Bessie,  looking  at  her  chum’s  face,  saw  that 
it  was  red  with  anger  and  mortification.  It  was  a 
harsh  blow  to  Dolly ’s  pride  in  herself,  and  her  be- 
lief in  her  own  power  to  charm  everyone  she  saw. 

“Never  mind,  Dolly!  You’re  not  what  he  calls 
you,  and  we  both  know  it,”  whispered  Bessie. 
“ Don’t  get  angry!  Remember  that  he’s  furious 
because  we  slipped  out  of  his  hands,  that’s  all.  I 
don’t  believe  he  really  means  that  at  all.  He  isn’t 
silly  enough  to  believe  it,  I’m  sure  of  that.” 

“I  bet  I’ll  make  him  feel  sorry  he  ever  said 
that  just  the  same,”  vowed  Dolly,  clenching  her 
fist.  “I’d  like  to  pull  his  hair  out  for  him,  the 
nasty,  mean  liar ! ” 

“Well  we’ve  got  to  think  of  getting  away  from 
them  before  we  can  do  that,”  said  Bessie.  “And 


128 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


it’s  not  going  to  be  as  easy  as  I thought,  either. 
Holly,  because  if  they  watch  that  trolley  line,  I 
don’t  see  how  we’re  going  to  get  aboard  without 
being  seen.  Jake  Hoover  is  going  down  this  road, 
you  see.” 

“Well,  why  don’t  we  just  strike  the  trolley  at 
another  place?” 

“That  isn’t  so  easy,  either,  Dolly,  because  that 
trolley  doesn’t  run  along  the  road  there.  It  goes 
through  the  fields,  like  a regular  railroad,  and  it 
only  stops  at  certain  places.  There  isn’t  a trolley 
station  marked  for  a mile  or  so  either  side  of 
the  one  on  this  road,  and  I don’t  see  how  we  can 
get  to  the  nearest  ones,  either.  I don’t  know  the 
country  around  here  well  enough  to  clo  much  wan- 
dering in  the  woods.  You  have  to  know  your  way 
about  to  do  that,  especially  if  you’re  in  a hurry  to 
get  anywhere.” 

“Sh — listen!”  said  Dolly,  holding  up  her  finger. 

“Well,  you  understand,  then?”  said  Holmes,  in 
the  road  below.  “Take  this  road  until  you  come 
to  the  trolley  line,  and  wait  there  for  the  girls 
to  come  along.  If  Bessie  comes,  grab  her,  and 
don’t  let  her  get  away  from  you.  I’ll  go  to  the 
railroad  station  where  they’ll  have  to  change  for 
the  train  to  Deer  Crossing,  in  case  they  manage  to 
reach  it  in  some  other  fashion,  and  old  Weeks 
will  stay  on* guard  in  Jericho.  Now,  don’t  make 
any  mistakes.  Remember,  I know  some  things 
about  you  that  you  don’t  want  others  to  find  out 


ON  THE  FARM 


129 


young  man,  and  I’ve  got  a habit  of  punishing 
people  who  fail  when  they  are  working  for  me.  ’ ’ 
“I  ain’t  noticed  that  you  reward  them  much 
when  they  do  things,”  grumbled  Jake.  “It’s  a 
poor  rule  that  don’t  work  both  ways,  mister.  You 
say  you’ll  punish  me  if  I don’t/ make  good;  how 
about  payin’  me  if  I do?” 

“We’ll  talk  about  that  when  you’ve  accom- 
plished something,  my  young  friend,”  said 
Holmes,  with  an  ugly  laugh.  “It  seems  to  me 
that  you  ought  to  be  pretty  grateful  to  me  for  not 
having  split  on  yon  before  this,  though.  If  I 
told  all  I know  about  you,  I guess  you’d  be  in  the 
state  reformatory  now— and  I’m  not  sure  that 
it  wouldn’t  be  a good  place  for  you.  Eh?” 

* ‘ Stow  that,  you ! ’ ’ snarled  J ake.  ‘ ‘ Say,  I could 
tell  a few  things  about  you  if  I wanted  to.  This 
stunt  you  pulled  off  this  morning  is  pretty  nigh 
to  bein’  kidnappin’— know*  that?” 

Bessie  touched  Dolly  on  the  arm. 

“Oh,  I do  hope  they  keep  on  quarrelling,”  she 
whispered.  “That  is  our  very  best  chance  to  es- 
cape from  them,  Dolly.  If  they  get  to  fighting  be- 
tween themselves,  it’s  going  to  be  much  harder 
for  them  to  do  anything  to  us.  They’ll  distrust 
one  another,  and  we  may  be  able  to  fool  them.  ’ ’ 
But  Holmes  evidently  saw  that,  too.  When  he 
spoke  again,  his  voice  was  good-natured,  and  he 
had  resumed  his  chaffing,  easy  tone. 

“Don’t  go  up  in  the  air  that  way,  Jake,”  he 


130 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


said.  “I  was  only  trying  to  string  you  a little, 
trying  to  make  you  mad.  I wouldn’t  give  you 
away;  never  fear  that.  You’ll  do  your  best,  I 
know.  And  you ’ll  find  that  you’ll  get  your  re- 
ward, all  right,  too,  if  you  make  a good  job  of 
this.  We’ve  got  one  of  them.  Now  we  want  the 
other,  and  I’ll  feel  safe.  So  go  ahead  now  and 
don’t  waste  any  more  time.  Take  your  bicycle 
and  make  the  best  time  you  can  to  that  trolley 
station.  ’ ’ 

“I  got  a right  to  hold  her,  haven’t  I?”  asked 
Jake,  a little  dubiously,  as  Bessie  thought. 

4 ‘Sure  you  have!”  said  Holmes,  impatiently. 
“I’ve  told  you  that,  haven’t  I?  Weeks  has  got 
papers  from  the  court  making  him  her  guardian, 
just  as  he  did  in  the  case  of  that  other  girl.” 

“All  right,”  said  Jake. 

And  he  got  on  his  bicycle  and  rode  off,  while 
Holmes  walked  back  along  the  road,  and  they 
heard  him,  a minute  later,  cranking  up  his  auto- 
mobile, which  he  had  evidently  found  and  taken 
around  by  another  road. 

The  information,  unintentionally  given  to  her 
by  Holmes,  that  Weeks  was  her  legal  guardian, 
made  Bessie  shiver.  She  was  more  afraid  of  the 
miserly  old  farmer  than  of  anyone  she  had  ever 
seen,  and  the  idea  of  being  subject  to  his  au- 
thority for  any  length  of  time  filled  Bessie  with 
dread.  He  hated  her  already;  she  knew  that  she 
would  be  far  less  happy  in  his  care  than  she  had 


ON  THE  FARM 


131 


ever  been  at  tbe  Hoover’s,  where,  sometimes,  it 
had  seemed  to  her  that  the  limit  of  discomfort  and 
severe  treatment  had  been  reached. 

So,  if  Bessie  had  needed  anything  to  spur  her 
determination  to  escape  from  the  trap  into  which 
poor  Dolly  had  so  innocently  led  her,  this  acci- 
dental discovery  of  what  her  fate  was  to  be  wrnuld 
have  been  enough.  But  as  she  pondered,  she  could 
not,  for  the  time,  see  what  was  to  be  done. 

“Bessie,”  said  Dolly,  when  they  had  been  quiet 
for  several  minutes,  “is  that  Jake  Hoover  as 
stupid  as  he  looks?” 

“He’s  not  very  bright,  Dolly.  He’s  cunnings 
like  some  animals,  and  that  makes  him  seem  clev- 
erer than  he  is.  But  I think  that  he  really  just, 
acts  by  instinct  most  of  the  time,  and  that  that’s 
one  reason  he ’s  so  mean.  ’ ’ 

“Well,  have  you  thought  of  any  way  of  getting” 
back  to  the  farm  except  by  the  trolley?” 

“No— o.  The  only  thing  I did  think  of  was 
that  you  might  go  ahead.  They  wouldn’t  bother 
you,  I guess.  They’d  be  afraid  to,  you  see,  be- 
cause you’ve  got  a lot  of  friends  and  relatives 
who ’d  make  an  awful  fuss  if  they  tried  to  bother 
you.  Then  I could  stay  here,  and  you  could  tell 
Miss  Eleanor,  and  she’d  get  Charlie  Jamieson,  or 
someone  to  come  after  me  here  in  an  auto- 
mobile— ” 

1 i I tnink  that’s  too  risky,  Bessie.  They’d  guess 
that  I knew  where  you  were,  and  if  they’re  ready 


.132 


THE  GAMP  FIBS  GIBLS 


to  take  suck  big  chances  to  get, hold  of  you,,  they 
might  carry  me  off  and  keep  me  somewhere  for 
a few  days-long  enough  to  keep  me  from  taking 
word  to  Miss  Eleanor  and  bringing  help  to  you. 
And  you  see  you  wouldn’t  know  why  they  didn’t 
come,  and,  oh,  no,  I think  we’d  better  not  try  any- 
thing like  that!” 

“It  would  be  risky,  Dolly,  and  I know  it  as  well 
as  you  do.  But  I don’t  see  what  else  we’re  going 
to  do.  I hate  to  get  you  mixed  up  with  my  troubles 
— it  isn’t  fair.  I think  I’d  better  just  let  them 
catch  me,  and  take  a chance  of  getting1  away  after- 
ward— ” 

“Bessie  King,  do  you  think  I’d  let, you  dc  any- 
thing like  that?  Whose  fault  is  it  that  you’re  in 
this  trouble?  Mine,  isn’t  it?  Well,  we’re  going 
to  stick  together!  I’m  certainly  not  going  to  let 
you  get  into  more  trouble  just  for  the  sake  of  sav- 
ing me  from  sharing  it.  And  I’ve  got  an  idea, 
anyhow.  Jake  Hoover  looks  to  me  as  if  one  could 
fool  him  pretty  easily.  He  doesn’t  know  what  I 
look  like,  does  he?” 

“I  don’t  suppose  he  does,  Dolly.  I don’t  see 
how  he  could.  But  what’s  that  got  to  do  with 
it?” 

“Just  you  wait  and  see!  If  you  had  any  plan, 
Bessie,  I wouldn’t  want  to  suggest  anything,  be- 
cause I think  you’re  a lot  cleverer  than  I a.m. 
But  I have  fooled  boys  before  now,  just  for  fun, 
and  I think  maybe  1 can  do  it  this  time,  when  I’ve 


ON- THE  FABM 


133 


really  got  a good  reason  for  doing  it.  These 
woods  along  the  road  here  aren’t  very  thick  so 
let’s  walk  along,  and  follow  the  road,  until  we 
Gome  in  sight  of  the  trolley.  Then  we’ll  see  what 
it’s  like  where  the  trolley  conies  along,  and  maybe 
we’ll  be  able  to  fool  Mr.  Jake  Hoover,  the  horrid 
thing!  I think  he  must  be  a dreadful  coward  to 
persecute  a girl  the  way  he  does  you.  You  never 
did  anything  to  him,  did  you?” 

“No,  but  he  never  liked  me  from  the  time  he 
was  a little  boy.  He  was  always  trying  to  get 
me  into  trouble  with  Maw  Hoover.  I don’t  know 
why  he  hates  me  so,  but  he  certainly  does.” 

“Well,  he  doesn’t  hate  you  half  as  much  as  I 
hate  him,  I promise  you  that,  Bessie!  And  I’ve 
usually  managed  to  get  even  with  the  people  I 
hate,  if  it  wasn’t  too  much  trouble.  I’m  hungry 
now,  and  thirsty, . and  it’s  his  fault— partly.  I’m 
going  to  get  even  with  him  for  that.” 

Bessie  was  surprised  to  find  that  Dolly  seemed 
to  have  conquered  her  nervousness  and  her  fear  of 
the  strange  situation  in  which  she  was  placed.  A 
little  while  before  she  had  seemed  almost  on  the 
verge  of  a collapse,  and  Bessie  had  been  afraid 
that  her  chum,  unused  to  hardships  of  any  sort, 
and  to  roughing  it,  as  country  girls  almost  all 
learn  to  do  from  the  time  they  are  very  small,  was 
going  to  break  down.  But  now  Dolly  seemed  to  be 
as  resolute  and  as  unafraid  as  Bessie  herself,  and 
the  knowledge  naturally  cheered  Bessie,  since  if 


134 


THE  CAMP’  FIEE  GIRLS 


assured  her  that  she  would  not  have  to  hear  the 
burden  alone. 

So  they  started,  as  Dolly  had  suggested,  walk- 
ing along  through  the  woods,  perhaps  a hundred 
feet  back  from  the  road.  They  could  not  be  seen 
themselves,  but,  by  moving  to  the  side  of  the  little 
rise  or  bank  along  the  road  from  time  to  time, 
they  were  able  to  see  what  was  going  on.  For 
most  of  the  distance  they  were  unable  to  see  any- 
thing at  all.  The  road  seemed  to  be  little  used, 
and  they  passed  only  one  house  on  the  way  to  the 
trolley  station. 

They  had  warning  of  their  approach  to  the 
trolley  some  time  before  it  was  in  sight,  too,  when 
they  heard  the  wires  singing  as  a car  passed 
along. 

‘‘Now  we’re  getting  near  the  place,”  said  Dolly, 
happily.  “Oh,  but  it’s  going  to  be  fun,  Bessie! 
You’re  just  going  to  let  me  run  things  now  for 
a little  while,  for  a change.  I’ve  got  a splendid 
plan— and  I’ll  tell  you  about  it  in  good  time.” 

As  they  neared  the  trolley  line  the  woods  began 
to  get  somewhat  thinner,  and  Dolly  grew  nervous. 

“I  hope  the  ground  isn’t  too  clear  around  the 
track,  Bessie,”  she  said.  “That  wouldn’t  be  good 
for  my  plan  at  all.” 

But  her  fears  -were  groundless,  for,  as  it  turned 
out,  the  trolley  line  ran  right  through  the  woods 
on  their  side  of  the  road,  although  on  the  other 
side  the  trees  had  all  been  cleared  away.  Soon 


ON  THE  FARM 


135 


they  saw  a little  shed,  and  a bench  outside.  And 
on  the  bench,  watching  the  road  in  the  direction 
from  which  they  had  come,  sat  Jake  Hoover. 

‘ ‘ N ow,  listen,  ” said  Dolly.  ‘ ‘ J ake  doesn ’t  know 
me,  you  see,  and  I’m  going  right  out  there  and 
talk  to  him.  I bet  he  ’ll  be  glad  to  talk  to  me,  too, 
and  I’ll  keep  him  busy,  so  that  you  can  sneak  over 
the  tracks  and  get  to  the  other  side.  Then  you. 
wait  there  until  you  hear  a car  coming.  See? 
And  when  it  comes,  get  on  from  the  other  side. 
I’ll  be  holding  Jake’s  attention,  and  I don’t  believe 
he’ll  ever  see  you  at  all.  I’ll  get  aboard,  too,  and 
you  can  manage  so  that  he  won’t  be  able  to  see 
you  on  the  car.  Even  if  he  does,  I don’t  believe 
the  men  would  let  him  touch  you,  but  he  won’t, 
until  the  car  begins  to  move,  and  then  it  will  be 
too  late.” 

“But,  Dolly,  do  you  think  you  can  keep  Jake 
Hoover  quiet?  Suppose  he  knows  you,  he’d  sus- 
pect right  away  that  I was  in  the  neighborhood. 
And  then  there ’s  another  thing.  Mr.  Holmes  may 
have  told  him  what  sort  of  clothes  you  are  wear- 
ing. ’ ’ 

“I  never  thought  of  that,  Bessie.  That’s  so. 
Oh,  I know!  You  change  dresses  with  me,  right 
here.  He’s  so  stupid  that  he’d  never  think  of 
our  doing  that,  I know.” 

“That’s  a good  idea,  Dolly.  I do  think  it  may 
work.  ’ ’ 

So,  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees  they  changed 


136 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


dresses,  and  then,  while  Bessie  advanced  toward 
the  track  cautiously  and  as  quietly  as  possible, 
with  her  training  in  the  woods,  Dolly  went  back, 
and  appeared  presently  walking  carelessly  along 
toward  the  trolley  station. 

Jake  looked  at  her  suspiciously,  and  she  smiled 
at  him. 

‘ ‘ Oh,  hello ! ’ ’ she  said,  cheerily.  “You  waiting 
for  a car,  too?  How  soon  does  the  next  one  come 
along?” 

“About  two  minutes,”  said  Jake.  He  was  eye- 
ing her  clothes,  and  evidently  suspected  nothing 
after  that  scrutiny. 

“That’s  good!  I was  afraid  I’d  miss  that  car. 
Oh,  you’re  not  going,  are  you?  That’s  your  bi- 
cycle, isn’t  it?” 

“Naw,  I’m  not  goin’— got  to  stay  here.  Say, 
why  don’t  you  wait  here  and  talk  to  a feller?” 

“I  might,”  smiled  Dolly.  The  car  was  really 
coming— it  rounded  a curve  just  then,  and  came 
in,  slowing  up.  Dolly  saw  Bessie  get  aboard,  but 
Jake  was  looking  at  her.  “No,  I guess  I can’t,” 
she  said  then.  And  she  sprang  aboard,  just  as 
the'  car  moved  off. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


AT  THE  ELEVENTH  HOUR 

■ ' ■ J ■ , ! 

The  two  girls  fell  into  one  another’s  arms  on  the 
ear,  laughing  almost  hysterically  as  it  moved  away. 
Looking  back,  Dolly  saw  Jake  Hoover,  a stupid 
look  in  his  round  eyes,  staring  after  them. 

“Bessie!  Let  him  see  you!”  she  begged.  “I 
want  him  to  know  how  he  was  fooled!  I bet  he’s 
just  the  sort  of  boy  to  go  around  saying  what  poor 
things  girls  are,  and  how  little  use  he  has  for, 
them!” 

Bessie  stood  up  on  the  back  platform,  ancf  Jake 
saw  her.  The  sight  seemed  to  drive  him  frantic. 
They  saw  him  waving  his  arms,  and  faintly  heard 
his  shrieks  of  anger  as  he  saw  his  prey  slipping 
away.  But  he  was  helpless,  of  course ; there  was 
no  way  in  which  he  could  chase  the  car,  and  he  had 
sense  enough,  at  least,  to  realize  that. 

“You’re  quite  right  about  him,  Dolly,”  saMi 
Bessie,  laughing  so  hard  that  there  were  tears  in 
her  eyes.  “He  always  did  go  around  saying  that 
girls  were  no  good  and  that  he  couldn’t  see  why 
any  of  the  fellows  wanted  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  them ! ’ ’ 


137 


138 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“He’s  the  sort  that  always  does,  Bessie,  and 
it’s  because  the  girls  won’t  have  anything  to  do 
with  them.  He  was  pleased  enough  when  I started 
talking  to  him,  and  awfully  bashful,  too,  just  like 
a silly  calf.  That ’s  all  he  really  is,  anyhow,  Bessie. 
But  it’s  a good  thing  he’s  as  silly  as  he  is,  because 
he’s  so  mean  that  if  he  were  clever,  he  could  make 
a frightful  nuisance  of  himself.  ’ ’ 

“I  think  he’ll  have  a bad  time  when  Mr.  Holmes 
and  Farmer  Weeks  find  out  that  he  let  us  get  away, 
Dolly.  I don’t  know  what  sort  of  a hold  they’ve 
got  on  him,  but  it  was.  easy  to  tell  there  was  some- 
thing,  from  the  way  Mr.  Holmes  spoke.” 

“Yes,  indeed!  And  Mr.  Holmes  meant  just 
what  he  said  when  he  threatened  him,  too.  The 
only  reason  he  pretended  afterwards  that  he  was 
joking  was  so  that  Jake  wouldn’t  be  too  frightened 
to  do  anything,  don’t  you  think  so!” 

“Yes,  I do,  Dolly.  I wonder  if  Miss  Eleanor 
and  Mr.  Jamieson  will  believe  that  I was  right 
about  Mr.  Holmes  now?  They  laughed  at  me  be- 
fore when  I said  that  I wouldn’t  trust  him,  and 
was  so  sure  that  he  had  something  to  do  with 
Zara’s  being  carried  off—” 

“Why,  what’s  that,  Bessie?  I hadn’t  heard  of 
that  at  all.” 

“Oh,  I forgot!  You  don’t  know  about  that, 
do  you?  Well,  this  is  a good  chance  to  tell  you.” 
So  Bessie  told  Dolly  something  of  the  strange 


ON  THE  FARM 


139 


and  involved  affair  of  Zara  and  lier  fattier,  and 
of  Zara’s  mysterious  disappearance  from  the 
Mercer  house  in  the  middle  of  the  night. 

“I’ll  bet  they  fooled  her,  just  the  way  Mr. 
Holmes  fooled  me,”  said  Dolly,  excitedly.  1 “He 
looks  so  nice,  and  he’s  so  smooth  and  clever,  and 
he  talks  to  you  as  if  he  wanted  to  be  your  best 
friend.  I don’t  believe  they  carried  her  off.  I 
think  they  fooled  her,  so  that  she  was  willing  to 
go  with  them.” 

“That’s  just  what  I think,  Dolly,  and  this  busi- 
ness to-day  makes  me  worry  about  her  more  than 
ever.  I think  we  ought  to  try  to  get  her  away  from 
them  and  back  with  us  just  as  soon  as  we  can.” 

“I  suppose  they  wanted  you  because  you  know 
too  much,  ’ ’ said  Dolly,  thoughtfully.  ‘ 4 They  prob- 
ably thought  that  you  would  try  to  get,  Zara  away 
from  them.” 

“I  think  there’s  more  than  that,  though,  Dolly,” 
said  Bessie,  her  eyes  shining  with  excitement.  “I 
don’t  know  what  it  is  but  I’ve  just  got  a sort  of 
funny  feeling  that  they  know  something  about  me 
that  I don’t  know,  and  that  they  don’t  want  me  or 
my  real  friends  to  find  out.  I’m  going  to  be  just  as 
careful  as  I can  be,  anyhow.  Have  you  got  that 
map  we  took  from  the  car?  I want  to  see  just 
where  this  car  will  take  us.” 

Dolly  produced  the  map,  and  they  bent  their 
heads  over  it.  No  one  on  the  car.  seemed  to  be  pay- 


140 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIRLS 


ing  much,  attention  to  them.  There  were  only  two 
or  three  passengers,  and  Bessie  thought  they  had 
not  seen  the  manner  in  which  they  had  boarded 
the  car.  But  the  conductor,  coming  around  for 
fares,  had  noticed  that  there  was  something  out 
of  the  ordinary  about  their  presence.  He  was 
smiling  broadly  when  he  held  out  his  hands  for.  the 
fare. 

“Gave  that  young  feller  the  slip  pretty  neatly 
back  there  where  you  got  aboard,”  he  remarked. 
“'Which  of  you  was  he  after?  Don’t  blame  him 
much— pretty  young  ladies  like  you!” 

“Oh,  he’s  just  a stupid  boy!  We  didn’t  want 
him  riding  with  us,”  said  Dolly,  “so  we  tried  to 
make  him  think  we  weren’t  coming  on  this  car, 
and  then  jumped  aboard  when  it  was  too  late  for 
him  to  follow  us.” 

“I  saw  you— I saw  you,”  chuckled  the  conduc- 
tor. “So  did  Hank.  He’s  my  motorman,  and  the 
best  one  on  the  line.  That’s  why  he  started  the 
car  to  goin’  so  quickly.  Lots  of  excitement  around 
this  way  this  morning.  ’ ’ 

“How’s  that?”  asked  Bessie. 

“Oh,  there  was  a city  feller  over  to  Jericho  kick- 
in’ that  a couple  of  girls  had  stolen  his  automobile. 
r(\Ie,  I don’t  believe  it— didn’t  like  his  looks.  Serves 
him  right,  I say,  if  they  did.” 

Bessie  was  afraid  that  Dolly  would  betray  them 
by  a laugh,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  happened.  It 


ON  THE  FARM 


141 


was  quite  plain  that  the  conductor  never  thought 
of  connecting  them  with  the  two  girls  Holmes  had 
charged  with  the  theft  of  the  car.  But,  even  so, 
the  knowledge  that  he  had  made  such  an  accusa- 
tion publicly  worried  Bessie.  She  did  not  know 
much  of  the  law,  and  she  was  afraid  that  she  and 
Dolly  might  possibly  have  rendered  themselves 
liable  to  arrest  by  taking  the  car,  even  though  they 
had  abandoned  it  almost  at  once,  and  Holmes  had 
recovered  it  undamaged. 

In  that  case,  she  feared  getting  out  of  the  state 
might  not  save  them..  They  might,  for  all  she 
knew,  be  arrested  and  taken  back  to  Jericho, 
where  she  would  be  in  the  power  of  Weeks.  How- 
ever, she  decided  not  to  worry  much  about  that, 
and  when  she  mentioned  her  fears,  Dolly  laughed 
at  them. 

“People  in  glass  houses  can’t  afford  to  throw 
stones,”  she  said,  sagely.  “Look  here,  Bessie,  he 
might  be  able  to  make  people  believe  that  he  had  a 
right  to  catch  you,  if  he  was  acting  for  this  nasty 
old  Farmer  Weeks.  But  they  haven’t  any  right 
to  touch  me,  and  I believe  they  could  make  a lot 
of  trouble  for  Mr.  Holmes  for  carrying  me  off.  I 
rem  mber  that  they  sent  a man  to  prison  for  a 
long  time  not  long  ago  for  carrying  off  a child 
that  lived  near  us.  I guess  Mr.  Holmes  won’t  be 
very  anxious  to  go  to  law  about  his  old  car.  ’ ’ 

“Well,  look  here,  Dolly,  we’re  not  quite  out  of 
the  woods  yet,  you  know.  Here’s  the  station 


142 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


where  we  have  to  get  out  to  catch  the  train  for 
Deer  Crossing.  It’s  marked  Tecumseh.  And  it’s 
a funny  thing,  hut  the  railroad  is  in  the  other 
state,  and  the  trolley  car  stops  in  this  one.  Do 
you  see?  When  we  get  off  the  car  we’ll  still  he  in 
this  state,  hut  it  won’t  take  more  than  a minute  to 
cross  the  line.  Mr.  Holmes  told  Jake  he’d  he 
waiting  there,  so  we  must  look  out.” 

“Oh,  Bessie,  are  you  sure?  Wouldn’t  it  he 
dreadful  to  have  escaped  this  far,  and  then  he 
caught  just  when  everything  seemed  to  he  all 
right?  I’d  rather  have  been  held  up  by  Jake 
Hoover,  I do  believe!  And  I thought  everything 
was  all  right  now.” 

“Well,  there’s  no  use  getting  discouraged. 
We’re  much  better  off  than  we  were  when  we 
were  in  the  car,  Dolly,  and  we  got  out  of  that 
mess.  So  we  might  as  well  try  to  think  that  we’ll 
he  all  right,  anyhow.  Oh,  I just  thought  of  some- 
thing! Is  there  a station  on  this  trolley  line  be- 
fore we  come  to  Tecumseh?” 

They  looked  eagerly  at  the  map,  hut  disappoint- 
ment was  their  lot.  There  was  no  station  between 
the  one  where  they  had  hoarded  the  car  2 id  Te- 
cumseh. But  Dolly  had  an  idea  again,  just  as 
they  had  about  decided  that  they  would  have  to 
take  their  chances  with  Holmes  at  Tecumseh. 

“Doesn’t  this  car  ever  slow  down  at  all  be- 
tween stations?”  she  asked  the  conductor,  smiling 
and  looking  as  attractive  as  she  could. 


ON  THE  FARM 


143 


“Well,  that  depends,”  said  the  conductor,  re- 
turning1 the  smile.  “If  a passenger’s  got  a pull 
with  me  or  the  motorman,  it  might.  Why!” 

“Because  if  we  go  to  Tecumseh,  we’ll  only  have 
to  walk  back  nearly  half  a mile  to  that  road  that 
crosses  the  track.  Couldn’t  you  let  us  off  there, 
Mr.  Conductor!” 

“Well,  I don’t  run  the  car,”  he  said,  with  a 
smile.  “But  I’ll  talk  to  Hank,  the  motorman. 
Never  knew  him  to  refuse  anything  a lady  asked 

yet.” 

He  walked  to  the  front  of  the  car,  and  returned 
a moment  later. 

“Hank  says  he’s  got  to  stop  at  that  road  to- 
day,” he  reported,  with  a grin.  “It’s  against 
the  rules,  you  know,  to  make  stops  except  at 
stations,  or  to  let  passengers  off.  But  the  car  has 
to  stop  sometimes,  just  the  same,  and  if  you  should 
happen  to  drop  off,  I won’t  see  you— I won’t  be 
looking.  You  move  back  to  the  door,  and  be 
.ready,  and  I’ll  stay  up  in  front  with  Hank.  Then 
I won’t  be  to  blame,  you  see,  if  you  should  hap- 
pen to  get  off  when  the  car  stops.” 

“Thank  you  ever  so  much,”  said  the  two  girls, 
together.  “It’s  awfully  good  of  you—” 

“Don’t  be  thanking  me,”  grinned  the  con- 
ductor. “The  car’ll  be  stopping  by  accident  like, 
and  how  should  I know  what  you’re  going  to  do! 
Well,  good  luck  to  you!” 

, They  had  not  long  to  wait  before  the  grinding 


144 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


of  the  brakes  warned,  them  that  the  time  was  at 
band,  and  in  a few  moments  they  stood  beside  the 
track  and  waved  their  hands  cheerily  to  the  con- 
ductor, who,  with  an  expression  of  mock  surprise 
on  his  face,  had  come  out  on  the  back  platform, 
and  pretended  to  wonder  how  they  had  got  off 
the  car. 

“Now  I think  it  ought  to  be  easy,”  said  Bessie, 
greatly  relieved.  “You  see,  Mr.  Holmes  will  be 
watching  the  car.  He  probably  knows  all  about 
this  line,  and  wouldn’t  think  of  our  being  able  to 
get  off  and  walk.  So  what  we  want  to  do  is  to 
follow  this  road  here  and  then  turn  east  at  the 
first  crossroads.  That  will  bring  us  to  the  rail- 
road track,  and  we  can  cross  it,  and  work  down 
to  the  station  at  Tecumseh,  and  be  safe  all  the 
way.  We’ll  cross  the  state  line  this  side  of  the 
railroad,  and  then  we’ll  be  all  right.” 

Dolly  began  to  sing  for  sheer  happiness. 

“We’re  awfully  lucky,  Bessie,”  she  cried. 
“I’m  ever  so  glad  that  things  seem  to  be  coming 
out  all  right.  If  they’d  caught  you,  I would  al- 
ways have  blamed  myself  and  thought  it  was 
all  my  fault.” 

“Well,  even  if  it  was  partly  your  fault  in  the 
beginning,  Dolly,  I never  would  have  got  away 
from  Jake  Hoover  without  you,  I’m  sure  of  that. 
So  you  needn ’t  worry  any  more.  ’ ’ 

“It’s  awfully  good  of  you  to  say  so,  Bessie. 
There’s  one  thing— I’m  not  going  to  be  silly  any 


145 


ON  THE  FARM 

more,  the  way  I was  about  those  ice-cream  sodas 
this  morning.  And  I think— yes,  I will— I’ll 
promise  you  right  now  not  to  have  any  soda  or 
any  candy  between  meals  for  a month.  You 
think  they’re  bad  for  me,  don’t  you?” 

“I  think  they  must  be,  Dolly,  or  the  Camp  Fire 
Oirls  wouldn’t  give  honor  beads  for  doing  without 
them.  I’ve  never  had  much  of  anything  like  that 
myself,  you  see,  so  I don’t  really  know.” 

“Well,  I won’t  take  them,  anyhow.  Oh,  Bessie, 
but  I’m  hungry!  I’d  give  all  the  ice-cream  sodas 
I ever  ate  for  a big  piece  of  beefsteak  right  now! 
Aren’t  you  hungry,  too?  I should  think  you’d  be 
starved.  ’ ’ 

“I  am  pretty  hungry,  but  I was  so  excited  I’d 
forgotten  about  it,  I guess.  Why  did  you  remind 
me?” 

“Well,  maybe  there’ll  be  a store  at  Tecumseli, 
so  that  we  can  get  something  to  eat.” 

“Here’s  the  crossroad,  Dolly.  Now  we  want  to 
turn  east.  I don’t  think  we  ’ll  need  to  walk  very 
far— three-quarters  of  a mile,  maybe,  and  about 
as  much  more  back  toward  Tecumseh  when  we’re 
once  beyond  the  railroad.” 

“I  suppose  it’s  safe  to  walk  along  the  road 
here?” 

“I  think  so,  and  the  fields  are  open  on  both 
Sides,  anyhow,  so  it’s  a case  of  Hobson’s  choice. 
We’d  be  seen  just  as  easily  if  we  walked  in  the 
fields,  and  perhaps  the  people  who  own  them  would 


146 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


get  after  as,  too.  And  I think  we’ve  got  troubles 
enough  on  our  hands  without  looking  for  any] 
more.” 

“ That’s  certainly  true,  Bessie.  Yes,  we’ll  have 
to  stick  to  the  road.  Anyhow,  we  left  Jake  hack 
at  the  trolley  station,  and  he ’s  probably  still  there, 
trying  to  puzzle  out  how  we  got  away.  And  Mr. 
Holmes  ought  to  he  at  Tecumseh.  Farmer  Weeks 
was  to  stay  in  Jericho,  so  I think  we’ve  really] 
found  a safe  road  at  last!” 

It  seemed  so,  certainly.  They  met  a few  people 
and  they  were  mostly  driving,  and  Bessie  was  hop- 
ing for  a ride.  But  everyone  they  met  seemed  to 
be  going  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  they  had 
crossed  the  railroad  tracks  before  a cart  finally 
overtook  them.  By  that  time,  of  course,  they  were 
ready  to  turn  and  follow  the  tracks  to  Tecumseh, 
so  the  cheerful  offer  of  a ride  from  the  farmer 
who  was  driving  had  to  he  declined. 

“Oh,  Dolly,  we’re  really  safe  at  last!”  exclaimed 
Bessie.  “They  can’t  touch  me  in  this  state  so 
we  can  sit  down  and  rest  if  we  want  to.” 

“But  I don’t  want  to,  Bessie.  I’d  rather  hurry; 
along  to  Tecumseh  and  get  a train  just  as  soon  as 
we  can.  Wouldn’t  you?  I think  Miss  Eleanor 
must  be  awfully  worried  about  us  by  this  time.” 

“Bessie!”  said  Dolly,  suddenly.  “Look,  isn’t 
that  cloud  of  dust  on  the  road  there  coming  this 
way?  It  looks  like  someone  on  a bicycle.” 

It  was.  It  was  Jake  Hoover,  scorching  along 


ON  THE  FARM 


147 


toward  them,  and  as  he  approached  them  they 
could  see  a look  of  triumph  on  his  face.  He  was 
up  with  them  in  a moment,  and,  jumping  off  his 
wheel,  seized  Bessie,  who  was  too  terrified  to 
move. 

“Got  yer,  ain’t  I?”  he  shouted,  savagely  exul- 
tant. “Thought  you  was  mighty  smart,  foolin’ 
me,  didn’t  yer?  Well,  we’ll  see!” 

“Don’t  you  dare  touch  her!  She’s  not  in  your 
state  any  more,”  stormed  Dolly,  stamping  her 
foot. 

“She  soon  will  be,”  he  said,  and  picked  Bessie,,, 
who  was  no  match  for  him,  though  she  struggled,, 
up  in  his  arms.  He  started  to  walk  back  in  the 
direction  he  had  come,  leaving  his  bicycle  in  the 
road  where  it  had  fallen. 

But  now  Dolly,  seeing  Bessie  treated  so  roughly, 
seemed  to  turn  into  a little  wildcat.  With  a fur- 
ious cry  she  sprang  at  Jake,  and  began  hitting  him 
with  her  fists,  scratching  him, .pulling  his  hair  and 
attacking  him  so  vigorously  that  he  cried  out  with, 
surprise  and  pain.  He  dropped  Bessie  and  turned 
to  protect  himself,  and  Dolly  drew  off  at  once. 

“Run,  Bessie,  run!  He’ll  never  catch  you!” 
she  cried.  And  as  Jake  darted  off  in  pursuit  of 
Bessie,  who  seized  the  chance  to  escape,  Dolly 
picked  up  a stone  and  smashed  the  bicycle  with  it- 

“There,  now!  He’ll  never  catch  us  on  foot,  and 
he  can’t  ride  any  more,”  she  cried.  “Come  on, 
Bessie!” 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  ENEMY  CHECKMATED 

Bessie  had  eluded  the  furious  Jake  easily 
^enough.  Amazed  by  Dolly’s  onslaught,  he  had 
been  too  surprised  to  move  quickly  in  any  case, 
and,  when  he  saw  her  trying  to  ruin  his  bicycle, 
he  was  diverted  from  Bessie  and,  shouting  furious- 
ly, ran  toward  her  with  the  idea  of  saving  his 
wheel.  So  it  was  no  trick  at  all  for  the  two  girls, 
light  on  their  feet  and  graceful  in  their  move- 
ments, to  avoid  the  shambling,  ungainly,  over- 
grown boy,  who,  smarting  from  the  pain  of  the 
scratches  Dolly  had  inflicted,  ran  after  them 
blindly. 

Moreover,  they  had  not  gone  very  far  when  a 
farmer’s  boy  came  along,  driving  a surrey.  He 
was  laughing  at  the  antics  of  Jake,  and  when  he 
saw  the  two  girls,  he  stopped  his  horses. 

“Say,  is  that  big  lout  trying  to  catch  you  two?” 
he  asked. 

“He  certainly  is ! ” said  Dolly.  ‘ ‘ Are  you  going 
to  let  him  do  it?” 

“You  bet  your  life  I’m  not!”  said  the  boy, 
getting  down  from  the  surrey  quickly.  “Just  you 

148 


ON  THE  FARM 


149 


] 

watch  those  horses,  and  you’ll  see  what  I do  to 
him.  We  don’t  think  much  of  fellers  who  hit 
! girls  in  these  parts.” 

Jake  was  coming  along  puffing  and  blowing,  and 
when  he  saw  the  two  girls  he  gave  a cry  of 
triumph.  But  the  farmer’s  boy  checked  that 
quickly,  and  gave  him  something  else  to  shout 
about. 

“Here,  you  big  bully,  what  are  you  trying  to 
do?”  he  demanded,  setting  himself  squarely  in 
Jake’s  path. 

“Get  outer  my  way!”  stormed  Jake.  “That 
young  one  there  smashed  my  wheel,  and  the  other 
one  is  wanted— she’s  wanted  by  the  officers— she 
stole  a automobile  and  set  my  pop’s  barn  on 
fire—” 

“That’s  a likely  story— I don’t  think!”  sneered 
the  farmer’s  boy.  “Get  back  now!  Leave  them 
alone,  do  you  hear?  If  you  try  to  touch  them 
again,  I’ll  knock  you  into  the  middle  of  next 
week—” 

But  Jake  was  too  enraged  to  be  afraid,  as  in 
his  sober  senses  he  certainly  would  have  been. 
And  rashly  he  made  a quick  leap  forward,  and 
tried  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the  big  young 
fellow  who  was  between  him  and  the  girls.  There 
wasn’t  any  fight;  it  would  not  be  fair  to  dignify 
what  followed  with  such  a name.  Jake  was 
knocked  down  by  the  first  blow ; he  tried  to  get  up, 


150 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


and  was  promptly  knocked  down  again.  That 
brought  him  to  his  senses. 

“Had  enough?”  asked  his  conqueror,  simply. 

And  Jake,  lying  in  the  dust  at  his  feet,  sobbing,' 
and  trying  to  pull  himself  together,  stammered 
out,  “Yes!” 

“All  right!  Get  up,  and  go  over  there  by  the 
side  of  the  road  and  sit  down.  And  if  you  know  , 
what’s  good  for  you,  you’ll  stay  there,  too,  or  else 
turn  around  and  go  where  you  came  from.  If  you 
follow  us  you’ll  get  into  trouble— more  than 
you  ’re  in  now,  and  that  seems  to  be  about  all  you 
can  handle;  judging  from  the  looks  of  you.” 

Then  he  turned  away  contemptuously,  and  went 
back  to  Dolly  and  Bessie,  who  were  watching  him 
admiringly. 

“Isn’t  he  splendid— so  brave  and  strong?” 
cried  Dolly. 

“It’s  a good  thing  for  us  he  came  along,”  said 
Bessie.  “Jake  is  strong  enough  to  hurt  us  or  do 
anything  he  likes  to  us,  but  I always  knew  that  he 
couldn’t  do  anything  against  a boy  his  own  size. 
I wish  they  hadn’t  had  to  fight,  but  in  a case  like 
this  it’s  all  right,  because  it’s  the  only  thing  to 
do.” 

“Well,  I like  a boy  who  can  fight  when  he  has 
to,”  said  Dolly,  stoutly.  “I  haven’t  any  use  for 
sissies,  and  I think  that’s  all  Jake  really  is,  for 
all  his  bluster.” 

“Well,  I guess  he  won’t  bother  you  much 


ON  THE  FAEM 


151 


more,”  said  their  champion,  when  he  returned  to 
the  surrey.  “I’m  only  going  as  far  as  Tecumseh, 
but  I’ll  be  glad  to  give  you  a ride  that  far  if  you 
want  to  go.” 

“We  do,  indeed,”  said  Bessie.  “And  we’re 
ever  so  much  obliged  to  you  for  saving  us  from 
that  fellow  and  for  offering  us  the  ride,  too.  Do 
you  know  when  we  can  get  a train  at  Tecumseh 
for  Deer  Crossing?” 

“Eight  soon  now,”  said  the  boy.  “It’s  due 
most  any  minute  but  I’ll  get  you  there  in  time. 
That’s  the  train  I’m  going  to  meet — got  to  take 
some  summer  boarders  from  the  city  out  to  pop’s 
place.  My  name’s  Bill  Burns.  My  pop’s  got  a 
farm  over  that  way”— he  pointed  with  his  whip — 
“about  two  miles.” 

Bessie  and  Dolly  told  him  their  names  then,  and 
he  asked  where  they  were  staying  at  Deer  Cross- 
ing. 

“Mercer  Farm,  huh?”  he  said,  when  they  had 
told  him.  “I  got  a cousin  works  over  there — 
fellow  by  the  name  of  Walter  Stubbs.  Do  you 
know  him?” 

“Yes,  indeed,”  said  Bessie,  with  a smiling  look 
at  Dolly.  “We  saw  him  this  morning.  Dolly 
thinks  a lot  of  him.” 

“Oh,  is  that  so?”  said  Bill  Burns.  He  looked 
at  Dolly,  then  bent  over  and  whispered  to  Bessie, 
“He’s  welcome  to  her.”  Then  he  spoke  aloud 
again.  “I  may  be  running  over  to  see  Walt  oner 


152 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


of  these  days.  He  and  I are  pretty  good  friends 
— for  cousins.  Seems  to  me  he  told  me  somethin’ 
about  an  ice-cream  festival  over  there  at  the 
Methodist  Church.  I might  run  over  to  that.  ’ ’ 

“I  wish  you  would,”  said  Bessie,  laughing. 
“All  the  girls  are  going,  I’m  sure— all  our  Camp 
Fire  Girls.” 

“What,  more  of  you  girls?”  said  Bill,  seeming 
to  be  surprised. 

“Yes,  indeed.  There  are  a whole  lot  over  at 
the  farm.  They’ll  be  glad  to  see  you,  especially 
when  we  tell  them  how  good  you  were  to  us,  and 
how  you  saved  us  from  that  nasty  Jake  Hoover.” 

“Oh,  I just  enjoyed  beating  him,”  said  Burns. 
“Wish  he’d  put  up  more  of  a fight,  though.  I’d 
have  licked  him  just  the  same,  but  it  would  have 
been  more  like  a real  fight.  Well,  I don’t  hear 
that  train  yet,  and  .the  station’s  just  around  that 
next  bend.  Not  much  of  a place— Tecumseh. 
Hasn’t  any  right  to  such  a fine  name,  I think.” 

The  prospect  when  they  rounded  the  turn  in  the 
road  bore  out  his  slur  on  the  village  of  Tecumseh. 
It  wasn’t  much  of  a place— scarcely  more  than  the 
village  part  of  Hedgeville,  as  Bessie  saw.  The 
station  was  there,  and  two  or  three  stores  and  a 
post  office.  But  Bessie  and  Dolly  were  more  inter- 
ested in  the  man  who  was  sitting  gloomily,  watch 
in  hand,  on  the  station  steps.  It  was  Holmes,  and 
his  face,  when  he  saw  them,  was  a picture. 

“Well,  how  in  the  world  did  you  get  here?” 


ON  THE  FARM 


155 


he  asked,  angrily.  “That  was  a fine  trick  you 
played  on  me,  running  off,  and  leaving  me  to 
worry  about  you!  You  might  have  been  killed.” 

“I  like  your  nerve!”  exclaimed  Dolly,  before 
Bessie  could  answer,  surprised  by  the  cool  way  in 
which  Holmes  tried  to  shift  the  blame  to  their 
shoulders.  “Look  here,  Mr.  Holmes,  we  know  all 
about  you,  and  why  you  took  us  on  that  ride.  You 
wanted  to  get  Bessie  into  the  state  where  she  came 
from,  so  that  Farmer  Weeks  could  keep  her 
there ! ’ ’ 

A look  of  black  anger  swept  across  his  face,, 
handsome  enough  when  he  did  not  let  his  real 
Character  stand  revealed. 

“Yes,  there’s  no  use  trying  to  deceive  us  any 
more  with  your  smooth  talk,  Mr.  Holmes,”  said 
Bessie.  “I  listened  to  what  you  said  over  the 
telephone,  and  we  heard  you  telling  Jake  Hoover 
how  to  catch  us  when  we  went  to  take  the  trolley*, 
too.” 

“Yes,”  countered  Dolly.  “If  you  had  been  as 
smart  as  you  thought  you  were,  you  could  have 
caught  us  then— we  were  within  a few  feet  of  yon 
While  you  were  talking  to  him.” 

“Well,  I’m  near  enough  to  catch  you  now!” 
said  Holmes,  and  he  made  a grab  for  Bessie,  and 
caught  her  just  as  she  started  to  run  away.  He 
began  dragging  her  across  the  tracks  and  toward 
the  state  line,  but  Bill  Burns  came  out  of  the  post 
office  at  that  moment. 


154 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


“Here,  you  let  her  alone!”  he  shouted,  spring- 
ing forward,  and  Holmes  dropped  Bessie’s  arm 
to  ward  off  the  blow  that  Burns  aimed  at  him. 

“What  are  you  butting  in  for?”  he  snarled. 
“Want  to  get  yourself  in  jail?” 

“Never  you  mind  what  I want  to  do,”  said 
Burns.  “Don’t  you  try  to  touch  either  of  those 
girls  again!  If  you  do,  you’ll  find  that  I can  hit 
you  as  hard  as  you  ever  were  hit  in  your  life. 
And  if  I ever  get  into  jail,  you  won’t  be  the  one 
■to  put  me  there,  either— I’ll  bet  money  on  that!” 

There  might  have  been  more  argument,  but  just 
then  the  whistle  of  the  approaching  train  sounded, 
and  a moment  later  it  had  drawn  into  the  station, 
separating  the  two  girls  and  Burns  from  E(olmes 
very  effectually. 

Bessie  and  Dolly  sprang  up  the  steps  at  once, 
and  turned  to  wave  good-bye  to  Bill  Burns,  who 
'had  helped  them  so  splendidly.  He  stood  below, 
■grinning  at  them,  and  waving  his  hand,  and  as 
they  began  to  move  out  of  range  he  called  out 
cheerily  to  them:  “Well,  I’ll  be  over  to  see  Walt 
pretty  soon.  Don’t  forget  what  I look  like!” 

“ We  certainly  won’t,”  Bessie  answered. 

Then  they  went  inside,  and  sank  gratefully  and 
happily  into  the  first  empty  seat  they  saw.  They 
were  still  hungry,  but  at  least  they  were  safe  now 
from  the  pursuit  of  Holmes  and  Jake  Hoover, 
and  they  were  so  grateful  for  that  that  they  were 
entirely  willing  to  let  their  hunger  be  forgotten. 


ON  THE  FARM 


155 


And  they  had  not  been  seated  more  than  a min- 
ute, when  Bessie,  at  least,  had  new  cause  for  feel- 
ing happy,  for  a man’s  voice  sounded  in  her  ear, 
and  she  looked  up  in  surprise  to  see  Charlie 
Jamieson,  the  lawyer,  bending  over  them. 

“Well,  what  are  you  doing  here?”  he  exclaimed. 

They  told  him  as  quickly  as  they  could,  both 
girls  joining  in  the  story,  and  his  eyes  grew  grave 
as  he  listened. 

“Well,  I owe  you  an  apology,  Bessie,”  he  said, 
when  they  had  finished  their  tale.  “I  certainly 
thought  you  were  all  off  about  Holmes,  and  I’m 
still  puzzled  to  account  for  his  being  mixed  up 
in  this.  But  there’s  no  doubt  that  he  is,  from  what 
you  tell  me— none  at  all!  He’s  a hard  man  to 
have  to  fight,  too.  You  did  mighty  well  to  get 
rid  of  him  as  well  as  you  did.  You  left  him  back 
there  at  Tecumseh,  eh!  Well,  I’ll  just  have  a 
look,  in  case  he  got  on  the  train  when  you  weren’t 
looking.” 

He  walked  through  the  train,  and  in  a few  min- 
utes he  was  back,  looking  more  serious  than  even 

“That’s  just  what  he  did,”  he  said.  “He’s 
up  there  in  the  smoking  car,  looking  as  if  he ’d  lost 
his  last  friend  this  morning.  He’s  a hard  man  to 
shake  oft",  and  a bad  man  to  have  against  you. 
That’s  always  been  his  reputation,  and  I guess  you 
two  will  be  ready  to  believe  that  after  what  you’ve 
seen  of  him  to-day.  I’m  going  to  sit  down  and 
do  some  thinking  now,  before  we  get  to  Deer 


156 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS 


Crossing.  It’s  a lucky  thing  I happened  to  decide 
to  run  out  this  afternoon,  and  it  was  just  accident. 
I found  I had  a little  time  to  myself,  and  I wired 
to  Miss  Mercer  that  I would  come  out  and  spend 
the  night  and  see  how  the  Camp  Fire  Girls  were 
getting  along.’ ’ 

“I  thought  maybe  she’d  sent  word  to  you  when 
Holly  and  I weren’t  at  the  farm  for  lunch,”  said 
Bessie.  “I’m  afraid  she’s  worried  about  us.” 

“She  probably  is,  and  if  she  hadn’t  known  I 
was  coming  anyhow  she  would  probably  have  sent 
for  me.  Well,  you’d  better  rest  up  a bit  now, 
Bessie.  We  may  not  be  through  with  Mr.  Holmes 
yet.  ’ ’ 

“He  wouldn’t  dare  try  to  do  anything  to  me 
now,  when  you’re  here,  Mr.  Jamieson!” 

“No,  I don’t  believe  he  would.  But  that’s  not 
exactly  what  I meant.  He’s  through  with  us— 
for  the  day.  But  we’re  not  through  with  him. 
We  may  have  a chance  to  get  even  and  do  some- 
thing to  him,  just  by  way  of  a change.  I think 
he  needs  a lesson  to  show  him  that  we’re  a match 
for  him,  after  all.”  Then  he  went  off,  explaining 
that  he  had  to  be  alone  to  think  out  a problem. 

But  they  hadn’t  figured  out  what  his  plan  might 
be  when  he  returned  to  them,  chuckling  mightily. 

“I’ve  got  it,  I believe, ’ ’ he  said.  * ‘ Holmes  acted 
as  if  you  had  treated  him  badly,  didn’t  he,  when 
you  took  his  car  ? As  if  he  was  hurt  by  your  think- 
ing that  he  didn’t  mean  to  do  just  what  he  said?” 


ON  THE  FARM 


157 


“Yes,”  said  Bessie. 

“Then  we’ll  pretend  to  believe  it,  Miss  Mercer 
and  I.  You  needn’t,  of  course.  That  wouldn’t 
tool  him  for  a minute.  But  he’ll  probably  try  to 
make  us  think  he’s  all  right,  and  that V just  what 
I want.  Oh,  we’ve  got  him  now,  I think!  I hope 
Miss  Mercer  will  be  at  the  station.  I can’t  explain 
my  plan  now,  but  you’ll  be  in  it,  and  then  you’ll 
see.  I’m  going  up  to  talk  to  him  now.” 

So  Bessie  and  Dolly,  sadly  puzzled,  and  unable 
to  see  what  the  lawyer  was  driving  at,  saw  the 
two  men  get  off  the  train  at  Deer  Crossing. 
'Jamieson  rushed  over  to  Miss  Mercer  and  spoke 
to  her  for  a minute,  and  then  Eleanor,  laughing, 
held  out  her  hand  to  Holmes,  and  turned  to  the 
two  girls  with  a smile. 

“Why,  how  silly  you  were,”  she  said,  “to  think 
that  Mr.  Holmes  meant  to  be  anything  but  kind! 
You  mustn’t  get  such  nonsensical  ideas.  Mr. 
Holmes,  just  to  prove  that  you  don’t  bear  any 
malice,  you  must  let  me  drive  you  out  to  the  farm 
for  dinner.  No,  I really  won’t  let  you  refuse.  I 
insist.  There’s  plenty  of  room  in  the  car— the 
chauffeur  will  go  back  in  one  of  the  farm  wagons, 
and  Charlie  will  drive.” 

Holmes  glanced  once  at  Bessie  triumphantly 
but  he  was  careful  not  to  betray  himself. 

“I’m  afraid  I oughtn’t  to  impose  on  you,  Miss 
Mercer,”  he  said.  “But  really,  since  you’re  so 
pressing— well,  I shall  be  most  happy  to  come.” 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  TABLES  TUBHED 

When  they  arrived  at  the  farm,  after  the  swift 
ran  in  the  Mercer  car,  Miss  Mercer  took  Holmes 
oat  on  the  big  hack  piazza,  and  Bessie  and  Dolly, 
under  the  watchful  eyes  of  Jamieson,  made  ap  for 
their  long  fast.  It  was  nearly  five  o’clock  in  the 
afternoon  when  they  reached  the  dining-room, 
and  Jamieson  laughed  as  he  saw  them  eat. 

“You’ll  spoil  your  appetites  for  dinner,”  he 
said,  as  he  saw  Dolly  making  away  with  the  cold 
meat  and  bread  and  milk  that  had  been  provided 
for  them. 

“I  don’t  care!”  she  answered.  “It  couldn’t 
taste  half  as  good  as  this,  no  matter  what  it  was. 
But  now  you’re  not  going  to  keep  on  being  mean? 
You’ll  tell  us  why  you  and  Miss  Eleanor  are  being 
So  nice  to  Mr.  Holmes?” 

“Not  yet,”  he  said.  “But  you’ll  know  soon 
enough.  It  isn’t  just  because  we  like  the  pleasure 
of  his  company,  I can  tell  you  that.  Mr.  Holmes  is 
in  for  one  of  the  worst  surprises  of  his  life  before 
I get  through  with  him,  unless ,1  fall  down  pretty 
hard.  And  I don’t  expect  to.  I’ll  tell  you  one 

158 


ON  THE  FAEM 


159 


thing,  though.  All  you  girls  are  going  for  a straw 
ride  to-night,  and  Mr.  Holmes  is  going  to  be  along,, 
too.  He  doesn’t  know  it  yet,  and  he  won’t  know, 
even  after  we  start,  just  where  we’re  going.” 

“It’s  a lucky  thing  Miss  Eleanor  has  taken  part 
in  amateur  theatricals  sometimes,”  he  continued. 
“She  was  half  wild  with  anxiety  about  you  two, 
and  she  was  ready  to  give  you  the  worst  scolding 
you  ever  listened  to.  But  I told  her  what  I wanted 
her  to  do  just  in  that  one  minute  there  at  the 
station,  and  she  played  up  splendidly,  so  that  I 
don’t  believe  Holmes  suspects  that  we’re  on  to 
him  at  all.  She’s  mad  with  curiosity,  too,  and  I 
bet  she’s  dying  to  get  hold  of  me  and  make  me 
tell  her  all  about  it. 

“Well,  I’ve  got  to  get  ready  for  what’s  coming' 
after  dinner.  Bun  along  upstairs,  you  two,  and 
try  to  sleep  for  an  hour  or  so.” 

“You  won’t  leave  us  behind?”  said  Dolly, 
anxiously. 

“I’d  leave  you  in  a minute,  you  minx,  but  I 
couldn’t  get  Bessie  without  waking  you  up  too, 
I suppose,  and  I need  her,  so  you’ll  have  to  come 
along.  If  you  see  the  other  girls  don’t  tell  them 
what’s  happened.  Make  them  wait  until  to-mor- 
row. ’ ’ 

“All  right,”  said  Bessie.  “Come  along,  Dolly! 
I am  tired.  It  will  feel  good  to  get  a little  nap.” 

The  reaction  from  the  strain  of  their  expe- 
riences made  it  easy  for  them  to  get  to  sleep  as- 


160 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GIRLS 


soon  as  they  were  lying  down,  and  both  were  still 
sleepy  when  a knock  at  the  door  awakened  them. 
It  was  quite  dark,  and  the  moon  was  shining. 
Outside  they  found  two  wagons,  one  much  larger 
than  the  other,  tilled  with  straw. 

‘ 1 This  is  fine  fun,  ’ ’ said  Holmes,  who  was  stand- 
ing with  Miss  Mercer  and  Jamieson.  “ A regular 
old-fashioned  straw  ride,  eh?” 

“Well,  pile  in!”  said  Jamieson,  who  was  acting 
as  master  of  ceremonies.  “Holmes,  get  in  there 
beside  Miss  Mercer.  Bessie,  you  and  Dolly  get 
in  there,  too.  We  want  to  keep  an  eye  on  you, 
so  that  you  don’t  get  into  any  more  mischief. 
Come  on,  now,  all  you  girls  get  aboard  the  other 
wagon— and  off  you  go!” 

Then  he  climbed  aboard  himself,  and  began  to 
take  up  the  song  that  had  already  been  started  in 
the  other  wagon,  one  of  the  favorites  of  the  Camp 
Fire  Girls.  So  it  was  a jolly  party  that  soon 
passed  out  of  the  tree-lined  avenue  of  the  Mercer 
farm  and  began  driving  along  the  road,  away 
from  Deer  Crossing. 

The  smaller  and  lighter  wagon  took  the  lead  and 
they  passed  along  quietly  for  some  time— quietly 
as  far  as  incident  is  concerned,  that  is,  for  there 
was  nothing  quiet  about  the  merry,  happy  girls 
in  the  big  wagon.  They  made  the  night  resound 
with  their  songs  and  laughter,  and  Bessie  won- 
dered a little  why  she  and  Dolly  were  kept  where 
they  were,  instead  of  being  sent  with  the  other 


ON  THE  FARM 


161 


girls.  But  she  said  nothing,  and  she  knew  that 
she  would  find  out  presently.  For  her  and  Dolly 
there  was  a peculiar  thrill  in  the  ride,  and  a de- 
lightful one,  too, ' for  they  knew  from  what  the 
lawyer  had  told  them  that  there  was  a surprise 
preparing  for  Holmes,  and  it  was  exciting  to  try 
to  guess  what  it  might  turn  out  to  be. 

Nor  was  the  explanation  very  long  delayed. 
They  had  driven  for  a mile,  perhaps,  when  the 
driver,  obeying  a quiet  order  from  the  lawyer, 
who  had  taken  a.  seat  beside  him,  turned  off  the 
main  road,  and  they  found  themselves  in  a nar- 
row lane,  where  there  would  not  be  room  to  pass 
should  they  meet  any  sort  of  a vehicle. 

“Pretty  narrow  quarters,  Jamieson,”  said 
Holmes.  “Are  you  sure  you  know  where  you’re 
going?”  - 

“Yes,  I know,”  said  Jamieson,  with  a laugh. 
“Don’t  you!  I thought  you  knew  this  part  of 
the  country  so  well,  Holmes.” 

“I?  No,  I scarcely  know  it  at  all,  as  a matter 
of  fact.  That’s  how  I got  lost  this  morning  when 
I took  these  young  ladies  for  a drive  and  got  my- 
self into  their  bad  graces.” 

“My  mistake!  I thought  you  did  know  it.” 

Jamieson  bent  over  then  and  spoke  again  to  the 
driver,  and  in  a moment  they  made  another  turn, 
but  this  time  into  a private  road.  Bessie  thought 
she  heard  ‘ a startled  exclamation  from  Holmes, 
but  she  was  not  sure.  Then  she  looked  around. 


162 


THE  CAMP!  FIRE  GIRLS 


“What  a horrid  place!”  exclaimed  Miss  Mer- 
cer. “Look  how  it’s  been  allowed  to  run  down. 
Oh,  I know  where  we  are!  This  is  the  old  Tis- 
dall  place.  No  one  has  lived  here  for  years. 
That’s  why  it  looks  so  neglected.” 

“Right!”  said  Jamieson.  “Doesn’t  that  house 
look  creepy,  through  the  trees,  with  the  moonlight 
on  it  ? I thought  this  would  be  a fine  place  to  come 
and  tell  ghost  stories.” 

This  time  there  was  no  mistake  about  Holmes’s 
angry  exclamation. 

“Look  here,  what  do  you  think  you’re  doing? 
What  right  have  you  to  bring  this  crowd  in  here, 
Jamieson?” 

Charlie  looked  at  him  in  surprise — a surprise 
that  Bessie  knew  instinctively  was  assumed. 

“Oh,  strictly  speaking,  I suppose  we’re  tres- 
passing,” he  said.  “But  this  has  always  been 
common  property— for  years,  at  least.  The  own- 
ers don’t  pay  any  attention  to  the  place.  They 
won’t  mind  our  coming  here,  even  if  they  find 
out.” 

“Well,  I object-” 

But  Holmes  stifled  the  remark  before  anyone 
.save  Bessie  and  Jamieson  heard  it.  And  Bessie 
began  to  understand,  and  to  thrill  with  a new, 
scarcely  formed  idea.  She  began  to  have  a glim- 
mering of  Jamieson’s  plan,  and  she  saw  how 
cleverly  Holmes  had  been  induced  to  walk  into  the 
trap  that  had  been  set  for  him.  No  matter  how 


ON  THE  FARM 


183 


much  he  knew  about  this  mysterious  place,  and 
how  unwilling  he  might  be  to  let  them  explore  it, 
whatever  his  reason,  he  could  not  protest  now 
without  revealing  plainly  that  he  had  been  lying 
before.  And,  moreover,  he  could  not  be  at  all 
sure  that  it  was  not  pure  accident  that  had  led 
Jamieson  to  select  it  as  their  destination. 

Holmes  was  between  two  fires.  If  he  let  the 
ride  go  on,  he  faced  discovery  of  something  he 
was  trying  to  keep  secret ; if  he  tried  to  stop  it 
short,  or  to  divert  it  to  some  other  spot,  he  was 
sure  to  arouse  suspicions  that,  by  the  merest  luck, 
as  he  supposed,  his  treatment  of  Bessie  and 'Dolly 
had  not  aroused.  So  he  did  what  most  people 
would  do  in  the  same  circumstances ; he  kept  still, 
and  trusted  to  his  luck  to  carry  him  through. 

“Oh,  X see,”  he  said,  finally.  “You’re  going 
to  stop  in  the  grounds  and  have  a picnic,  or  some- 
thing like  that,  eh!  That’s  fine— that  will  be 
great  sport.” 


“That’s  what  I thought,” 
son,  innocently,  but  Bessie  w ; 


said  Charlie  Jamie- 
as  sure  that  he  had 


winked  at  her. 


The  wagons  drove  up,  however,  to  the  very 
front  of  the  crumbling  old  house. 

“Everybody  out!”  called  Jamieson.  “Here, 
Holmes,  where  are  you  going?  Stay  with  us,  man! 
The  fun  is  just  going  to  begin.”  For  he  had 
seen  Holmes  trying  to  slip  off  to  the  back  of  the 


164 


THE  CAMP  FIEE  GrIBLS 


house,  and,  smiling,  he  had  seized  the  retired  mer- 
chant’s arm. 

“Here’s  something  I want  you  to  hear,”  he 
said.  “Eleanor,  start  the  girls  to  singing  that 
song  I like  so  much— that  ‘ Wohelo  for  Aye’  song, 
you  know.” 

In  a moment  the  clear  voices  were  raised  in  the 
most  famous  of  all  the  Camp  Fire  Songs,  and 
Holmes,  with  a savage  wrench,  got  himself  free. 
But  it  was  too  late.  For,  as  the  first  notes  rose,  a 
window  above  was  flung  open,  and  a voice  that 
Bessie  knew  as  well  as  she  did  her  own  joined  in 
the  chorus.  In  a moment  the  singing  stopped,  and 
every  pair  of  eyes  was  turned  up,  to  see  Zara 
leaning  from  a window! 

“Oh,  Bessie— Miss  Mercer— please  take  me 
away  from  here!  I’m  so  frightened!” 

“The  game’s  up,  Holmes,”  said  Jamieson,  in 
a changed  voice.  “Did  you  really  think  we’d 
take  your  word  against  those  two  girls  you  treated 
so  shamefully  to-day?  Come  on,  now,  I’m  r ' 
going  to  stand  for  any  nonsense!  Will  you  take 
me  upstairs  to  where  you’ve  got  Zara  hidden? 
You  played  a cool  game,  and  you  thought  you 
could  get  away  with  it  because  you  were  so  re- 
spectable. But  we’ve  got  a complete  case  against 
you.  It  was  in  your  automobile  that  Zara  was 
taken  from  Miss  Mercer’s  house,  and  as  soon  as 
you  played  that  trick  to-day  I was  sure  that  you 
had  had  a hand  in  the  game.” 


ON  THE  FABM 


165 


Holmes  looked  at  him  darkly.  His  face  was 
forking  with  anger,  but  he  evidently  saw  that  the 
game  was  up,  as  Jamieson  said. 

“I  guess  yon  win— this  time,”  he  said  at  last, 
coolly  enough.  “But  remember,  I haven’t  been 
beaten  very  often.  And  you  don’t  know  what’s 
back  of  this.  If  you  knew  when  you  were  well  off,, 
you’d  keep  out  of  this,  Jamieson.  There ’d  be 
something  in  it  for  you—” 

“ Don’t  try  to  bribe  me,”  said  Jamieson,  with 
a gesture  of  disgust.  “It’s  no  use.  I win,  as  you 
say.  There  may  be  a next  time — but  I’m  not 
afraid  of  you,  Holmes.  Take  me  up  there  right 
away—” 

“Oh,  all  right,”  said  Holmes. 

And  three  minutes  later  Zara  was  in  Bessie’s 
arms,  while  Holmes  looked  on,  sneering. 

“I’ll  not  deny  that  you  did  a pretty  clever  job 
here,”  he  said.  “How  did  you  find  out  about  this 
house?” 

“I  happened  to  be  searching  some  records  yes- 
terday, and  I saw,  quite  by  accident,  the  deed  re- 
cording your  purchase  of  this  property,”  Jamie- 
son answered.  “That  didn’t  mean  much — until  T 
heard  of  the  way  you  acted  to-day.  Then,  of 
course,  I put  two  and  two  together,  and  decided 
you  got  hold  of  this  place  to  keep  Zara  hidden. 

“You  knew  there  was  a good  chance  that  we 
could  upset  that  order  making  old  Vfeeks  her 
guardian,  and  I knew,  of  course,  that  she  hadn’t 


166 


THE  CAMP  EIEE  GIRLS 


been  produced  in  court  in  the  other  state.  Pretty 
risky  work,  Holmes.  Now  get  out.  You  can  stay 
here,  of  course,  or  you  can  walk  to  the  station. 
There  won’t  be  room  for  you  with  us,  I’m  sorry 
to  say.” 

“Oh,  I’m  so  glad  to  get  away,”  Zara  sobbed. 
“I  thought  it  was  best  to  go.  They  told  me  that  I 
wouldn’t  be  taken  back  to  Farmer  Weeks,  and  that 
my  father  wanted  me  to  go  with  them.  They  had 
a note  from  him,  and  he  said  he  didn’t  quite 
understand  but  that  he  was  sure  Mr.  Holmes  was 
his  friend,  and  would  look  after  me  properly.  And 
they  said  Bessie  would  be  in  danger  as  long  as 
I stayed  with  her.  That  is  really  why  I went.” 

“But  it’s  all  right  now,  Zara,”  Eleanor  Mer- 
cer said,  soothingly.  “We’ll  look  after  you  now. 
Didn’t  they  treat  you  well  here?” 

“Oh,  it  was  horrid,  Miss  Eleanor!  They  kept 
me  locked  up  in  that  room,  and  I never  saw  any- 
one at  all,  except  one  old  woman,  who  was  deaf, 
and  couldn’t  understand  me.  She  brought  my 
meals,  but  of  course  I couldn’t  talk  to  her.” 

“He  was  afraid  to  trust  anyone  she  could  talk 
to,  of  course,  or  who  could  answer  questions  if 
anyone  happened  to  come  here.  That  explains 
why  the  people  inside  didn’t  pay  any  attention  to 
all  the  noise  we  made  as  we  drove  up.  That  was 
the  one  thing  I was  afraid  of,  and  I couldn’t  fig- 
ure out  any  way  to  avoid  that  risk.” 

“But  why  did  you  bring  Mr.  Holmes  along?” 


ON  THE  FAEM 


167 


“So  that  he  wouldn’t  get  here  before  we  did 
and  get  her  away,  Eleanor.  That  was  why  I 
had  to  make  him  think  we  swallowed  that  ridic- 
ulous story  of  his,  too.  Well,  Dolly,  will  you  for- 
give me  now  for  not  telling  you  before?  Wasn’t 
the  surprise  worth  waiting  for?” 

“That— and  getting  Zara  back.  Of  course  it 
was,”  said  Dolly,  happily.  “Oh,  Zara,  we’re  go- 
ing to  have  such  good  times  on  the  farm  now!” 

“On  the  farm,  yes,”  said  Jamieson,  dryly. 
“But  no  straying  into  the  road!  And  you’d  bet- 
ter see  that  half  a dozen  of  them  are  always  to- 
gether, Eleanor.  Mr.  Holmes  isn’t  the  sort  to 
be  content  with  one  licking.  He’ll  come  back  for 
more,  or  else  I’m  mightily  mistaken  in  my  man.” 

Then  they  all  climbed  into  the  wagons  again,  and 
how  they  did  laugh  at  the  disconsolate  figure  of 
Mr.  Holmes,  whom  they  passed,  trudging  slowly 
and  unhappily  toward  Deer  Crossing! 

Jamieson  looked  at  his  watch.  Then  he  laughed 
merrily. 

“He’ll  have  to  wait  until  half  past  five  in  the 
morning  for  the  milk  train  to  take  him  back  to 
the  city,”  he  said.  “I  don’t  envy  him.  There 
isn’t  much  to  do  at  Deer  Crossing.” 


m 

Billy  WfflSKERS  Series 

BY 

FRANCES  TREGO  MONTGOMERY 

Billy  Whiskers  — frolicsome,  mischief- making,  adven- 
ture -loving  Billy  Whiskers  — is  the  friend  of  every  boy  and 
girl  the  country  over,  and  the  things  that  happen  to  this 
wonderful  goat  and  his  numerous  animal  friends  make  the 
best  sort  of  reading  for  them. 

As  one  reviewer  aptly  puts  it,  these  stories  are  “just 
full  of  fun  and  good  times/ 1 for  Mrs.  Montgomery,  the 
author  of  them,  has  the  happy  faculty  of  knowing  what  the 
small  boy  and  his  sister  like  in  the  way  of  fiction. 

TITLES 

BILLY  WHISKERS  BILLY  WHISKERS’  GRANDCHILDREN 

BILLY  WHISKERS*  KIDS  MAY  WHISKERS’  VACATION 

BILLY  WHISKERS,  JR.  BILLY  WHISKERS  KIDNAPED 

BILLY  WHISKERS’  TRAVELS  BJULY  WHISKERS’  TWINS 

BILLY  WHISKERS  4T  THE  CIRCUS  BILLY  WHISKERS  IN  AN  AEROPLANE 

BILLY  WHISKERS  \1  THE  FAIR  BILLY  WHISKERS  IN  TOWN 

BILLY  WHISKERS1  FRIENDS  BILLY  WHISKERS  IN  PANAMA 

BILLY  WHISKERS,  JR.  AND  m CHUMS 

Each  Volume  a Quarto,  Bound  in  Boards,  Cover  and  Six 
Full  Page  Drawings  in  Colors,  Postpaid  Price  $1.00 

The  Saalfield  Publishing  Co.,  Akron,  Ohio 


THE  BRADEN  BOOKS 


FAR  PAST  THE  FRONTIER. 

By  JAMES  A.  BRADEN 

The  sub-title  “ Two  Boy  Pioneers  99  indicates  the  nature  of  this 
story — that  it  has  to  do  with  the  days  when  the  Ohio  Valley  and 
the  Northwest  country  were  sparsely  settled.  Such  a topic  is  an 
unfailing  fund  of  interest  to  boys,  especially  when  involving  a 
couple  of  stalwart  young  men  who  leave  the  East  to  make  their 
fortunes  and  to  incur  untolid  dangers. 

“ Strong,  vigorous,  healthy,  manly.” — Seattle  Times. 

CONNECTICUT"  BOYS  IN 
THE  WESTERN  RESERVE 

By  JAMES  A.  BRADEN 

The  author  once  more  sends  his  heroes  toward  the  setting  sun. 
u In  all  the  glowing  enthusiasm  of  youth,  the  youngsters  seek  their 
fortunes  in  the  great,  fertile  wilderness  of  northern  Ohio,  and 
eventually  achieve  fair  success,  though  their  progress  is  hindered 
and  sometimes  halted  by  adventures  innumerable.  It  is  a lively, 
wholesome  tale,  never  dull,  and  absorbing  in  interest  for  boys  who 
love  the  fabled  life  of  the  frontier/’— Chicago  Tribune. 


THE  TRAIL  of  THE  SENECA 

By  JAMES  A.  BRADEN 

In  which  we  follow  the  romantic  careers  of  John  Jerome  and 
Return  Kingdom  a little  farther. 

These  two  self-reliant  boys  are  living  peaceably  in  their  cabin 
on  the  Cuyahoga  when  an  Indian  warrior  is  found  dead  in  the 
woods  nearby.  The  Seneca  accuses  John  of  witchcraft.  This  means 
death  at  the  stake  if  he  is  captured.  They  decide  that,  the  Seneca’s 
charge  is  made  to  shield  himself,  and  set  out  to  prove  it.  Mad 
Anthony,  then  on  the  Ohio,  comes  to  their  aid,  but  all  their  efforts 
prove  futile  and  the  lone  cabin  is  found  in  ashes  on  their  return. 

C A P T I V E S THREE 

By  JAMES  A.  BRADEN 

A tale  of  frontier  life,  and  how  three  children — two  boys  and  a 

girl — attempt  to  reach  the  settlements  in  a canoe,  but  are  captured 
y the  Indians.  A common  enough  occurrence  in  the  days  of  our 
Afreat-grandfathers  has  been  woven  into  a thrilling  story. 

BOUND  IH  CLOTH,  each  handsomely  Cl 
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